GLBTQ Readings

The readings for today were not anything I was expecting to read during this semester. For me, Jerusalem has such a history of religious significance that I never imagined it much beyond that. My perception of it was so limited to that, that there have been many ideologies of Jerusalem presented in this class that have broadened my understanding. You can chalk this one up to that as well.

To start, I was very interested to see how the backlash towards the GLBTQ community in Israel would be. I wasn't overly surprised about the religious backlash referenced in the film, or the institutional backlash mentioned in the other websites. I was amazed to see how the local municipalities and police departments have just as much resistance to the GLBTQ community as does the religious right. I think my perception of Israel as a historical religious place is prevalent to them as well. It seems that in the eyes of many Israelis, that anything that could hamper the "pure" or "religious" side of Jerusalem is a problem and some people are willing to resort to violence in order to solve it. That is incredibly sad and wrong.

An interesting thing I noticed on the websites (though I may have overlooked it) was that there are very few or any specific rights mentioned that the groups are fighting for. The vast majority of the time it seemed like they were fighting against general persecution and discrimination. The discrimination was limited to just that word as compared to laying out how they are discriminated against. When comparing that to the GLBTQ movement in the United States, they lack the specific cause, i.e. marriage equality that the Americans are fighting for. In my mind, lacking that makes it harder for people to relate to where they are coming from.

Just as I have said so many times for all of my posts, the willingness to relate is a key to solve any conflict. I truly believe that if the GLBTQ community in Israel could begin to specify their fight as to how they are persecuted in a real way, people would be able to relate to them better. As it stands right now though, all people hear is this abstract idea of persecution and they do not know how exactly that is played out. It truly is amazing to see the similarities that this movement in Israel has in the United States, but its differences seem to be apparent and are the reason why they seem to be less far along the road as the GLBTQ community here. Both, have a long way to go.