Israel's gay community to launch new faction in Labor Party

[King_David]

Niv Zonis and Dan Slyper established LGBT faction to advance community's rights, bring LGBT voters back into the fold, and field a candidate for Knesset.
By Ophir Bar ZoharTags: Israel Labor Party

Members of the lesbian, gay, bi- and transsexual (LGBT ) community are about to launch a new faction of the Labor Party. Niv Zonis and Dan Slyper established the faction in order to advance the community's rights, including changing the party's platform, promoting legislation and wielding influence in various forums, including fielding a GLBT candidate for the Knesset. The pair also hopes to return voters, who bolted to other parties, mainly Kadima, back to Labor.

The faction was welcomed by party leader MK Shelley Yachimovich. All Labor MKs, except for Raleb Majadele, added their names to the list supporting the establishment of the faction.

"We would like to promote the party in the gay community and the community in the party," explained Zonis, a student at the Hebrew University's Revivim program in Jewish education. "We want to increase Labor membership as well as the number of party-affiliated voters in the community. Among other things, we are talking about changing the party platform, which currently contains one sentence of opposition to discrimination, and promoting laws that would enable equal rights, for example, in marriage, adoption and other problematic areas. Until today there has been almost no legislation for the community, except for that of Shulamit Aloni which repealed the law against male homosexuality. All other rights have been gained via the courts."

Party teams will decide on operative steps only after the official formation of the faction, after its anticipated approval by the party in coming weeks. Meanwhile the Zonis and Slyper are gathering members mainly via a Facebook page.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/israel-s-gay-community-to-launch-new-faction-in-labor-party-1.397390

[King_David]

1. Must be 'PINKWASHING' ha ha ha nt

[Little Tich]

4. Actually, it sounds like pinkwashing to me. Being gay is not a political position.

[holdencaufield]

6. But...

... equal rights for gays and lesbians IS very much a political position. So, why shouldn't there be a recognized gay faction in a political party? They already exist de facto, why not acknowledge it?

[Little Tich]

7. Well, I think Labor has to be careful so as not to a mirror of what some righwing parties are doing,

for one thing. A party platform is not to be sold by giving a cheap sales pitch, that will lead to tokenism. In a sense this iniative seems to be an answer to the so called pinkwashing phenomenon. Secondly, and more importantly, I think it's wrong to characterize LGBTs as being so different that that they should have a special, LGBT wing. Their needs are identical to those of the rest of the population, and while there are laws that discriminate against them, these laws don't make them different in any way. I hope they do some good in raising awareness about LGBT issues, because some people in Israel seem to have a dislike for LGBTs. Equal rights are always good. I still don't like the idea of LGBT profiling, however.

[King_David]

10. 'because some people in Israel seem to have a dislike for LGBTs'

Ha Ha Ha

You for real?

Is that different in Israel than in Canada or the USA or Holland?

:eyes:

[Little Tich]

11. The article is about Israel. Haters from other countries are unimportant in the context.

[King_David]

12. It is definatly all about 'Haters'

Yep

You said it.

[Ken Burch]

14. And once again, those who criticize what Israel does to Palestinians

And point out that all the West Bank settlements are a violation of international law are NOT "haters".

Agreed?

[King_David]

15. I prefer Pizza over Hamburger

And I do not like wearing socks and sandals.

[Ken Burch]

16. Which means what, O Cryptic One?

n/t.

[shira]

17. Ken, they're haters when they can do little else but demonize and delegitimize Israel...

...while never admitting anything is good about the state.

Its record on gay rights, the death penalty, healthcare, freedom of dissent, having an Islamist political party in its Knesset, not going to war in Iraq or Afghanistan, its socialist tendencies, etc. is arguably more liberal and progressive than the USA.

To haters, that means nothing.

They know nothing else but to demonize Israel by branding it an evil entity.

[King_David]

2. Compare to Australia

Australian PM Won't Eat With Gay Auction Winners

Australia's Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, doesn't like the idea of gay marriage. Nor is she very fond of awkward dinners.

Too bad for her. In June, the liberal Australian advocacy group GetUp! won an "intimate dinner" with Ms. Gillard at a charity auction. Their bid: $31,000, AUS. Their plan: Send same-sex couples to sup with Ms. Gillard and talk about marriage equality. The result: Ms. Gillard has so far refused to set a date for their meeting


Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/2011/11/australian-pm-wont-eat-with-gay-auction-winners.html#ixzz1espayYQO

[holdencaufield]

5. She should never...

... come to a Seder at my parent's house.

[shira]

8. Shameful. n/t

[LeftishBrit]

9. Gillard is not the most left-wing Laborite imaginable, either socially or economically,

BUT she is an model of pure leftism when compared with her vile right-wing opponent Tony Abbott. As well as being right-wing in economic and other ways, he is a strong Christian Right type, who among many other things once said that homosexuality made him feel 'threatened like most people'. Gillard beat him by ONE parliamentary seat.

So I would advise the Australians (not that they are necessarily looking for a Pommie's advice!) that in this case, as in many others, it would be a good idea to 'keep hold of Nurse/ For fear of finding something worse'.

[Harmony Blue]

3. I wish them luck

encouraging news if they can pull it off.

[Ken Burch]

13. Good for them. Seriously, good for them.

n/t.