- Title: ISRAEL: Thousands attend annual gay pride parade
- Date: 10th June 2011
- Summary: TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (JUNE 10, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE MARCHING IN STREET DURING THE ANNUAL GAY PRIDE PARADE IN TEL AVIV PEOPLE WATCHING PARADE FROM BALCONY, NEXT TO PRIDE FLAG WITH STAR OF DAVID PEOPLE DANCING ON TRUCK PEOPLE DANCING ON BALCONY NEXT TO BANNER READING IN HEBREW "WE ARE PROUD OF YOU, FLAT 7" VARIOUS OF PEOPLE DANCING IN STREET MAN W
- Embargoed: 25th June 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Israel, Israel
- Country: Israel
- Topics: Entertainment,People,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVA20URL6MJ8OLTLZ3UKPV237MED
- Story Text: The streets of the coastal Israeli city of Tel Aviv were flooded on Friday (June 10) with thousands of people from the gay and lesbian community and their heterosexual supporters who celebrated the annual gay pride parade in a city that has become the Middle East's capital of gay life.
Revellers, some in drag, danced on top of decorated trucks and marched through the city's main streets, as the parade went on for several hours.
"I came from Amsterdam to enjoy the parade and gay pride and to celebrate with all the other friendly people here in Israel," Denis Melgers, a tourist from the Netherlands, told Reuters Television.
Resident Vanessa Freedman said she came to the parade because visibility was important.
"I thought it was really awesome that Israel supports gay pride and I think visibility is really important so I wanted to come out and show that I'm proud," she said.
Israel does not recognise gay marriage, but has taken some steps toward gay rights.
Reforms for legitimising the lesbian and gay movement in Israel started in the 1990s, with the establishment of new laws and the ending of discriminatory rules in the military in 1993. In 2000, the age of consent was lowered to 16. Israel's Supreme Court ordered the government in 2006 to recognize same sex marriages that were performed abroad, giving same sex couples tax breaks and other benefits. In 2008, Israel's Attorney General ruled that same sex couples will be able to adopt a child who is unrelated to the couple.
However, anti-gay sentiments are still very common in the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, and past attempts to hold a pride parade in the city of Jerusalem were met with continuing attempts to block the event in court, and violent incidents weeks before and during the parades.
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