Freak Flag: Israel's secret & sordid gay spots

Contents:

• GAY TEL AVIV FOR BEGNERS
• FREAK FLAG: ISRAEL'S SECRET & SORDID GAY SPOTS
• TEL AVIV GAY TRAVEL
• BT GAY BARS TEL AVIV
• ISRAEL'S GAY SCENE THRIV UNEXPECTED PLAC
• TEL AVIV GAY BEACH
• TEL AVIV-YAFO GAY MAP
• TERROR, VLENCE AND CONSTANT HIDG: GAY LIFE TEL AVIV BEFORE IT BEME AN LGBTQ MEC
• TEL AVIV GAY BARS
• TEL AVIV: GAY ISRAEL
• 'GAY TEL AVIV' IS HERE TO STAY

GAY TEL AVIV FOR BEGNERS

So should e as no surprise that Israel’s pal of ol, Tel Aviv, where 25% of the populatn is timated to be LGBT, has gaed an ternatnal reputatn as one of the world’s top statns for gay men. One reason gay nightlife Tel Aviv is so excg is that the Tel Aviv gay scene revolv around weekly parti, rather than specific bars or clubs like most ci around the isn’t to say that certa gay bars Tel Aviv aren’t extremely popular. They boast crystal clear waters, whe sands, and an astoundg number of attractive people soakg up the you’ll be wele at nearly every beach Tel Aviv, there is an unofficial gay beach: Hilton Beach.

Simply head north on Dizengoff Street until you h Jabotsky Street, then take a left and walk down to the Aviv Gay PriTel Aviv hosts the only public gay pri para the entire Middle East. An afterparty at Charl Clore Park keeps the energy bt part of Tel Aviv pri is not the para self, but the fact that Tel Aviv’s gay nightlife gets even wilr durg pri!

All hotels Tel Aviv are gay iendly, and s safe to say the same for most rtrants, bars, f, and stor – fely the on which visors to the cy are likely to vis.

FREAK FLAG: ISRAEL'S SECRET & SORDID GAY SPOTS

Genr queer upl are almost ubiquo as straight on, pendg on which part of the cy you’re bt part of homosexualy beg so tolerated Tel Aviv is that Israelis tend to be very open about their feelgs for you.

TEL AVIV GAY TRAVEL

If they are, they may simply jo you at your, whether you e to Tel Aviv for the gay nightlife, to lie on a gay beach, to experience gay pri, or jt to enjoy the pany of fellow gays, there is perhaps no better gay statn the Middle East and very few others the world. Insir Tips – Gay Tel Aviv for BegnersBelow we offer some tips om the muny and equent visors to help you make the most of your time the Wood: “Tel Aviv is really an amazg place and a one of a kd LGBTQ muny bee you n walk around everywhere, be yourself 100% whout judgment, and feel accepted by everyone around you.

Whether you are a party animal or you prefer relaxg and soakg up the sun at the gay beach, don’t matter bee there are so many ways to feel the vibe of Tel Tel Aviv Beach TipsWhen visg Hilton Beach, you n rent an umbrella and chair. Wh an extensive selectn of expertly crafted cktails and laid back, welg vib, is easy to see why La Boheme is one of the bt gay bars Tel Aviv, and is not to be missed.

HaArba’a St 14, Tel AvivApolo ClubA long-standg bar the gay scene of Tel Aviv, Apolo is a dancebar and nightclub that offers two floors of fun and partyg. Mic and fun are the foc at Alphabet Club, and as one of the bt gay bars Tel Aviv, is a great place to dance and have fun, enjoyg the te vibe of Tel Aviv nightlife.

BT GAY BARS TEL AVIV

Israel's Gay Scene Beyond Tel Aviv 7 Queer Jews to Be Reckoned Wh ‘Tel Francis’ (The heartland of the actn)Tel Aviv is the epicenter of Israel’s LGBT scene; the undisputed queer Mec of the Middle East. Before them is a feast of dited venu spread liberally throughout the cy re, though there's no particular ‘gayborhood’ – givg the cy a queerer feel numerilly than actually has:1.

If mpy Madonna mic and patrons are more your thg, vis the grey lady of Tel Aviv’s gay scene, Eva, where you’re most likely to hear hs om Dana Internatnal – the transsexual Israeli wner of Eurovisn lookg for women?

ISRAEL'S GAY SCENE THRIV UNEXPECTED PLAC

Take a stroll down elegant Rothschild Boulevard, where gays, straights and everythg between stt their stuff amid shi stalls, prso stands, sculptur and pampered n. There’s also fashnista Shek Street, and inic Meir Park, a social hub for LGBT Israelis, se of s ma muny center, the tradnal startg part of the cy’s pri para (see Step 2 below), and now proud home to a memorial to Nazi barbary’s gay victims.

Haj of the Pristanis: Tel Aviv’s annual LGBT paraFrom bronzed mcle-gods and elaborately rated floats to poted polil plards and mass of rabow flags emblazoned wh the Star of David, Tel Aviv’s annual gay pri para is a mt for those who want to experience Israel’s at ’s gayt, and some would say s et (and still others at s most generate).

TEL AVIV GAY BEACH

Beach bums: The Gang of Tel Avivian hedonismIn the relign of many Israelis, gay and straight the same, the Mederranean Sea is the holy of holi – an outdoorsy, uber-rmal culture that venerat feelg and lookg Beach, ironilly (or poetilly?

) posned oppose Tel Aviv’s genr segregated relig beach, and easily intifiable by s rabow umbrellas, is an open-air butchery, packed wh gays (straights wele too!

TEL AVIV-YAFO GAY MAP

” Such sentiments – let alone bountiful merchandise – are part and parcel of most major wtern ci, yet the Middle East – where homosexuals and sexually pennt women are owned upon – that Tel Aviv has such tablishments, legal at that, is wondro to some. Blood, square and surrogacy Another worthy stop on the trail is Rab Square where s namake, former Prime Mister Yzhak Rab (who repealed the IDF’s prohibn of openly gay soldiers servg) was assassated.

Both the Mikveh Bar and Vio Bar serve the embattled though fiant muny, gmented by the weekly Saturgay night at Oliver Twist bar and a few other reoccurrg events. The Jesalem Open Hoe on Ben Yehuda Mall, which aniz the march, also provis LGBT Jesalem wh guidance and unselg servic, and, for some historil profundy, vis Yad Vashem, the movg natnal Holot mm, which mak (albe passg) reference to the thoands of homosexual victims of Nazi terror. Go North: The gayifitn of the GalileeOften marketed as Israel’s Tny, the Galilee offers stic scenery, historil s, and, specifilly for rabow-trailers, a growg number of same-sex venu, private gay tours and a plethora of B&Bs not so subtly ltg after the pk shekel.

Haifa is hands-down the north’s queer pal, boastg the dited Puzzle Bar, the new OverKsch gay le at the Synpa bar, weekly dance parti at the Newton Bar, and even a sna, Sparta Bar, suated the adjog town of Kiryat Atta.

TERROR, VLENCE AND CONSTANT HIDG: GAY LIFE TEL AVIV BEFORE IT BEME AN LGBTQ MEC

The Red Sea rort cy of Eilat will celebrate s fourteenth pri ftival May, 2014, and also holds the Solar Ftival at the end of the summer season, an expo of top global gay clubbg brands.

As pre-parture homework or trip down-time, gay-themed films such as Yossi and Jagger, billed as Israel’s Brokeback Mounta, The Bubble, featurg the nvoluted love affair of an Israeli soldier and closeted Paltian, as well as Ey Wi Open, centered around the siarly explosive relatnship between two ultra-orthodox Jesalem men, make for some serly taboo-btg some mastream though gay-created Israeli pop? Although Tel Aviv’s Gay Pri was celebrated nearly half a year ago, people are still hummg the ftival’s official theme song, which was prented by a young (and straight) sger, Omer Adam. But while Tel Aviv is Israel’s gay pal, there is a growg gay scene other ci around the untry, hostg more and more parti and events terg to the LGBT muny.

TEL AVIV GAY BARS

Won't Move Hassled Gay Tenant Israeli Schools Don't Reach Out to Gays Dana Internatnal: 'I Am Israeli Cher' Gay Pri Central to Israel Pilgrimag When Gay Haredi Men Marry Women First JCC-affiliated LGBT Group Viss Israel A Same-sex Couple? Not My Hoe The Ultimate Gui for Tel Aviv's Pri Week 7 Queer Jews to Be Reckoned Wh Tel Aviv Pri Week: More Than Jt Parti The IsRabow Trail: The LGBT Scene “Bee there is more openns today to gay pri, there is the feelg that this subject has bee a social norm outsi Tel Aviv as well, " says Michal Sher, 31, a member of the executive board of Agudah (the natnal LGBT associatn Israel) and who aniz s weekly dance parti and social activi. Avishag Tabib, 26, who produc the weekly Monroe multisexual dance parti at Be’er Sheva’s Grace Bar, c another reason for the crease the number of gay events Israel’s outlyg regns, and also scrib the procs that led her to anize weekly dance parti Be’er Sheva.

The weekly dance parti anized by Noa Maharevsky for Bat Hayam are a big succs, and The Vio Pub, which openly advertis self as a gay bar, has recently opened. ” 'Welg environment' Judgg om the ments by producers of gay events, there appear to be addnal differenc - not only the nature of the events but also their quanty.

” Israel's LGBT muny was unified last week as prepared to anize a prott party after Moshe Abutbul - the ultra-Orthodox mayor of Be Shemh - spoke disparaggly of gays. In an terview wh talk-show host Shai Stern on Channel 10, Abutbul clared that his cy had no gay muny and that, if there were any, they should be alt wh by the police or the Health Mistry. Gays who choose to stay the muny where they grew up, to study and work there as well as to velop the life of the muny there, serve much cred for their urageo, important work.

TEL AVIV: GAY ISRAEL

Many feel prsure to affirm their sexual orientatn through experienc for which they are not ready (how do you know you’re gay if you have never slept wh a man or a woman?

Two years ago, Haaretz Hebrew Edn published an article about “chemsex” – the e of banned dgs to enhance sex – a phenomenon that reflects the creasg e by many gays of dgs their sex life. Earlier this month, a move that generated wispread cricism the gay muny, the police raid the Sna Club Tel Aviv search of large quanti of the dg. Crystal meth אי־פיThe parti and events takg place this ntext are large measure the gay muny’s meltg pot; many characterize them as obligatory statns that every young gay person pass through.

'GAY TEL AVIV' IS HERE TO STAY

Actually, the optns are more diverse than that, wh three or four parti havg a gay-iendly orientatn, although only one club draws those party-goers known the muny as “pros, ” those who go out regularly. From the distance of time, I look at the people the gay muny who n the i scene, and I’d like to ask them: I was a kid of 20 then, how e no one had the stct to protect me? Next month, the Tel Aviv Municipaly, associatn wh the Aguda: The Israeli Natnal LGBT Task Force, will gurate a first dited center of s kd for dg ers the gay muny.

” Tel Aviv cy uncilman Etai Pkas Arad, who holds the gay muny portfol, is nvced that the muny needs to take rponsibily for the issue and also addrs subjects that are ls pleasant.

” Tel Aviv cy uncilman Etai Pkas Alon RonIn the meantime, therapists and experts who work wh the gay muny are pg every day wh young people who get swept up and lost the tensive nightlife.

“The are people who live wh a very ep divisn their mental life, which the weekend is a wild high and the everyday is empty, borg and meangls, ” says Dafna Greer, a clil social worker and psychotherapist, who is unselg and therapy director at the Gay Center Tel Aviv. ” Candid mera Roy Zucker, om the Gay Center clic, says he’s enunterg creasg numbers of s whose first dg episo is mediated by men who are far olr and far more experienced. ” Eran Han, ordator of the men’s assistance le at the Rape Crisis Center, adds that “a gay muny that is still stgglg agast the homophobic enemy om the outsi fds very difficult to turn s gaze on the enemi wh.

Recently, for example, the Gay Center anized a kd of “patrol” of volunteers who would stter through the Pri Para and the other mass events of Pri Week orr to provi young people wh a safe space. In closed but highly subscribed Facebook groups, many young gays scribe tail jur experienc related to timate relatns, whether bee of an element of ercn, or bee they were left wh an unfortable feelg – and dog so they brg to the surface issu of prciple ncerng nsent and mutualy. Ziv Schwartz, 24, a group lear a Natnal Service mune nnected to Israel Gay Youth Be’er Sheva, was 16 when a man 12 years his senr asslted him sexually.

It’s a place where cultur lli: Jews, Arabs, Christians, atheists, artists, scientists, lols, foreigners, young, old, gay and straight – they all share this rather secular cy such a relig untry.

It’s a cy that don’t sleep and even the heart of a highly relig untry, ’s a place where you n fd a huge gay populatn wh a sense of openns and a thrivg nightlife scene. Tel Aviv don’t specifilly have a gay neighborhood but you n fd lots of gays hangg around the areas drkg at f, ridg bik and walkg dogs durg the day and htg up the bars and clubs by night.

Misterb&b is not a hotel or cha, but rather a bookg platform for rooms, apartments and hom and allows you to book om gay and gay-iendly hosts around the world.

Unrstandg the gay scene is much more easily done wh the help of a lol and home-sharg is one of the bt ways to meet someone livg the cy who knows how thgs work, where and when are the bt nights to go out, and what plac to eat at and which to avoid. Tel Aviv is full of f, bars and clubs that ter to the lol Israeli gay rints and LGBT travelers wh many of the popular gay venu actually plac wh mixed crowds. Though Tel Aviv is gay-iendly all around, the beach jt ont of the Hilton Hotel is nsired the official Tel Aviv gay beach and is appropriately named Hilton Beach.

Naturally, the cy draws visors om all over the world, but perhaps s greatt acplishment over the past 15 years has been beg one of the top statns the world for gay travelers, which culmated the cy beg named the most popular statn for gay travel by 2011.