|
|
Hi Friends -
Well.....we did it again. Bigger, louder, more colorful than last year.
Israel Gay pride 2001 has been a series of memorable events, culminating
in yesterdays parade/happening in Tel Aviv. It started last week with a
beautiful evening at Tel Aviv current in spot - the TLV club. Situated
on the sea front over looking the Mediterranean, a wonderful evening was
planned by the Agudah (National Israeli GLBT organization). For us
"khatyars" of the crowd (the age 35+ crowd) - the dance music and early
hour was very welcome. It was an evening of pride that initiated what
was to be a great week for the GLBT com-munity of Israel. Cultural
events, Knesset meetings were held all in support of the cause.
And
then the big day arrived - Friday June 22, 2001. At 12noon ,
the crowd was gathering outside Beit Ariella. As opposed to
previous years when the starting point was Kikar Rabin, this
site was especially symbolic. On one side of us, the High
Court of Tel Aviv - the seat of justice for all. On the
other side of us, the cultural centers of the city. (and how
appropriate that a huge poster advertising the screening of
The Wizard of Oz draped the side of the museum building). It
was almost as Dorothy Gayle was looking down at us saying
"Toto, ...I don't think we're in the middle east any
more..." A glance across the street reminds us that we most
certainly still are. The GLBT community leaders, Mayor of
Tel Aviv, Vice Mayor, and Members of Knesset gave their
speeches. Each one told us what should be done, what they
have done, what they will do, and how much they support us.
The Israeli GLBT community has matured enough to recognize
which of them really do act on our behalf throughout the
year (of which many do), and which just have good speech
writers and want our vote. Forgive my cynicism, their
presence was certainly welcome. Despite "HaMatsav" (our term
for the current political/security situation) we heartily
welcomed participants >from all over the world. Although in
much lesser numbers than last year when peace was in the air
and hundreds of tourists joined the festivities (including
the Americas, Europe, Lebanon, Dubai,Morocco and Jordan)
this year we welcomed participants from the USA, Canada,
France, Australia, Mexico.
And
then the parade started. It was amazing. Thousands of people
from all walks of life from all over Israel. Youth,
teenagers, adults, senior citizens, men, women, drag queens
and macho-men, religious and secular were all there. The
Beer Sheva delegation was certainly a welcome addition to
the parade. A sobering reminder of "HaMatsav" was the
noticable delegation of "people in black" with their signs
saying "there is no pride in occupation." Dorothy Gayle was
wrong, we still are in the middle east. As we turned up Ibn
Gvirol Street, thousands more joined in. From the rooftops
and out of apartment windows people were waving - cheering
on the paraders. The post parade happening at the park was
the best ever. Dis-plays from various businesses,
restaurants, pubs and organizations encircled the park. Most
of all, the entertainment surpassed all expectations. The
local bands and singers that kicked off the event were great
and had us all dancing and singing. Singer Shlomi Shaban got
us all on our feet. Then...on came Bnot Pessia with their
Village People act. The combination of Israeli and
International songs made their performance a huge hit. Gali
Atari, as always, outdid herself. The love that she
generates in her songs, music, and personality was felt by
all. It was certainly a special treat for us all when
Corinne Alal, who only the day before officially came out of
her closet on national TV joined Gali Atari for a duet.
And...the performance we were all waiting for...Dana
International. After a long period of silence, (that gave
the local rumor mill lots of ammunition), Dana came on stage
with her troupe of dancers. She was relaxed, looked great,
and was most definitely thriving as she performed in her
element. The Israeli GLBT community, the cornerstone of her
success, was there to cheer her on. She gave a great
performance, introducing new unreleased songs, in addition
to her familiar hits and theme song...Viva La Diva. She was
great - without a doubt the cherry on a delicious cake that
we are very proud of.
We left the days events very hot, very tired, very
suntanned, and very very proud. Despite "Ha Matsav", their
have been plenty of achievements on the Israeli GLBT front.
Let us all hope and pray that this will continue, and by
this time next year, the same will be said on the political
front as well.
Happy
Pride Day! :-)
Russell Lord
|
