Stay up-to-date with our many communities: Here’s what’s been happening this week in the intersecting worlds of pro-Israel and the LGBTQ community!

TOP NEWS

In June, A Wider Bridge brought Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, the campaign that won marriage in the United States, to Israel. As part of the media coverage for his arrival, Wolfson gave an interview to Israeli paper Maariv. Read the interesting article. A Wider Bridge

San Francisco’s Jewish magazine published an article on the leadership change at A Wider Bridge, including an interview with the incoming Executive Director, Tye Gregory, on the transition, the work of the organization and our now world renowned LGBTQ trips to Israel. J Weekly

ISRAEL NEWS

Amazon Studios has picked up the global rights to the Israeli comedy The Baker and the Beauty, created by gay tv celebrity Assi Azar. Amazon will stream the original version of the show, with subtitles suited to each region. The Jerusalem Post / A Wider Bridge

Placing the bisexual-pansexual-polysexual community at the forefront of this year’s gay pride events in Tel Aviv inspired photographer Ofer Keidar to get to know the bi world a little better. Keidar found a way to use his photography blog to encourage bi-pan-poly visibility and to act against bisexual erasure. WDG

Over 3,000 people participated at the 11th annual Haifa Pride Parade on Friday afternoon, celebrating the opening of the Communities’ House, a center for the LGBT community in the City. Ynet

GLOBAL NEWS

LGBTQ Jews who support Israel are increasingly finding themselves caught in the crossfire between the two causes. The New York Jewish Week

Comedian Eitan Shalmon had a challenging struggle about being proud of his Israeli heritage and also being an out, gay man in Toronto. Canadian Jewish News

The Guardian Nigeria reviews the current status of gay marriage around the world; In the Middle East, Israel leads in terms of respect for homosexual rights. The Guardian

VIEWS

“Have you ever been in a relationship with a man? is it true that this singer is lesbian in the closet?” Ayala Kaufman, an internet marketing consultant, is tired of coming out at work. WDG

Arya Marvazy, an HR consultant and community organizer, first felt brave enough to come out as gay to his Iranian friends and siblings only after moving to Israel to study. The Iranian

Artist and freelance Jewish educational consultant, Rae Antonoff, says that if Jewish participation with even the faintest whiff of Israel supposedly poisons LGBTQ pride parades, then it’s high time we embarked on a serious leadership detox and cleared the way for a less anti-Semitic Pride month next year. Haaretz