Pride returns to Tel Aviv
The annual Pride march in Israel's largest city is one of the only rallies for LGBTQI+ rights in the Middle East.
Tel Aviv’s annual Pride march has returned this year.
Tens of thousands of Israelis marched in Tel Aviv’s annual Pride parade on Friday, according to Israel’s public broadcaster Kan. The yearly march for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex people known as LGBTQI+ was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tel Aviv Pride event is a rare event in the Middle East. There used to be a Pride march every year in Istanbul, but Turkish authorities have banned the event in recent years amid a crackdown on the LGBTQI+ community there.
Israel’s relationship with some segments of the LGBTQI+ rights community has become strained in recent years. Some LGBTQI+ activists in the United States are vocally opposed to Israel's activities. The Chicago Dyke March promoted its annual rally this year with a cartoon showing a woman burning an Israeli flag. Some pro-Palestine activists accuse Israel of “pinkwashing,” portraying itself as a safe haven for people of different sexual orientations, to distract from its treatment of Palestinian people.
