On Monday morning, Aug. 28, the ACLU filed a lawsuit in the federal district court of Maryland challenging the constitutionality of the Trump Administration’s transgender service member ban. A study done by the RAND Corporation (a non-partisan organization) and focused on Israel and three other countries (Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom), found that none […]
Hen Mazzig, an openly gay former Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) commander was a panelist at a free speech event in Toronto organized by LGBTory, the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research and Hasbara Fellowships He made it through five years in the Israeli army coordinating the construction of roads, hospitals and schools in the West Bank […]
CNN brings the story of Micha Yehudi, a transgender religious man who serves in the Israeli amy and marched on Thursday at the Jerusalem Pride parade Two years ago, Micha Yehudi hit rock bottom. The 25-year-old Israeli soldier was working 18-hour days and couldn’t sleep at night. Instead he watched videos of women going through […]
A group of LGBTQ military reservists have published a letter calling on the Israeli government to fire chief rabbi of the city of Safed, following his extreme homophobic remarks. Or Vaxman Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, chief rabbi of Safed, has referred to the LGBTQ community as “terrorists” and to the community’s struggle as “LGBT terror attacks” […]
The Israel Defense Forces have knowingly included transgender soldiers since 1998. In 2014, the Israeli military said it had at least five transgender members and would support future such conscripts. As of last year, it was among 19 countries, including the United States, that allowed transgender people to serve in the military. Waving the Transgender Pride flag at Tel Aviv […]
Writer and transgender activist Hannah Simpson thinks that Donald Trump’s recent transgender military ban isn’t really about the army. She thinks that Trump is watching his administration crumble and must pander to his right-wing base before they jump his sinking ship. Regardless, Hannah calls American Jews to hold a clear line on inclusion, especially for […]
The first transgender officer in the Israeli army, Captain Shachar Erez, in a personal testimony: “Let me be clear: barring transgender individuals from serving their country is not a policy based on credible professional opinion, it is simply pure transphobic discrimination.” Captain Erez with Freedom to Marry Founder Evan Wolfson in Tel Aviv on the AWB […]
Following a tour of talks across the United States, Capt. Shachar Erez, an FTM transgender soldier, shares his experience in an op-ed, encouraging other governments and militaries still struggling with the issue of transgenderism to look to Israel for guidance. Last week, four years after I graduated from the Israel Defense Forces officer course, I […]
Civil society groups voice concerns about mixed-gender units and the exclusion of women in the IDF in ‘historic’ meeting. Omer Nahmany, founder and director of Pride Blue and White, in a meeting with Artillery Cops soldiers Representatives of women’s organizations, the gay community and the Reform movement met with top Israel Defense Forces officials on […]
Military Advocate General (Brig.-Gen.) Sharon Afek, a top member of the high command of the Israeli army, came out in an interview with Israel Bar Association’s official magazine: “When I was a young officer I was worried that if it was known I might have hit the glass ceiling, but today and since it has […]