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GAY ISRAEL
Jerusalem in drag
BY DEIRDRE FULTON

Of all the things Jerusalem is known for, drag queens aren’t usually at the top of the list. But for 34-year-old Israeli Hagai El-Ad, the ancient city’s drag scene is just one aspect of a healthy and growing gay and lesbian community, which grapples with religious and ethnic conflicts while also struggling for gay rights and acceptance. El-Ad — who studied astro-physics at Harvard University — serves as executive director of the Jerusalem Open House, which provides programs for and advocates on behalf of gay and lesbian Israelis. He was in Jerusalem when 4000 people showed up to the city’s first gay-pride event in 2001; last year, 10,000 showed up. And next year, El-Ad hopes to see more than 100,000 people at WorldPride 2006, which was postponed this year due to tensions in the Middle East.

El-Ad came to Boston earlier this week to drum up international support for WorldPride. He may face opposition from people like Rabbi Yehuda Levin, of the Rabbinical Alliance of America, who in his failed attempt to block WorldPride from going to Jerusalem stated earlier this year, "This is not the homo land, this is the Holy Land." But El-Ad remains undaunted in his quest to make queer voices heard.

Are there challenges for the gay and lesbian community that are specific to Jerusalem?

There’s only one Jerusalem on this planet. It’s very beautiful; I love Jerusalem very much. But it’s also the city, as people quote, "the city at the heart of the conflict." There are many other divides and fault lines that meet in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is very condensed, very charged. Part of what we’re doing is trying to find the space for our community amongst all of these other communities, and at the same time perhaps show that different people can actually get along together.... I think Jerusalem has one of the best drag scenes in the world. Very, very proud, and fun.

How have you tailored Open House to Jerusalem’s unique population?

Jerusalem is a very diverse city, perhaps one of the most diverse cities in the world, with a great variety of different communities living together in one shared city, but not always getting along together as one could hope for. There are Palestinians and Israelis, religious and secular, people who were born in Jerusalem and who come from all over the world, and there’s so much interest in what’s happening in Jerusalem — sometimes it can make it rather tense. Our success is in not only speaking about being an organization that is totally diverse, and committed to being out there for everyone, but in genuinely being so.

Have you found that increased tolerance of sexuality can lead to increased tolerance of religious and ethnic backgrounds, and vice versa?

Within the gay community, I think certainly there’s a great deal of tolerance and understanding, and that’s something that brings people together beyond issues of religion or nationality, by virtue of the fact that we have something in common and we’re fighting together for something that we believe in. There are many religious activists who are part of the Jerusalem Open House. And dealing with issues that bring together, rather than divide, religion and sexuality, is very much part of our ongoing programming and identity.

What do you expect to come of WorldPride?

We want the legacy of WorldPride in Jerusalem, where there is such a unique intersection of past and future, to be a message of tolerance, a message of coexistence, a message of optimism.

To learn more about WorldPride 2006, visit www.worldpride.net.


Issue Date: October 14 - 20, 2005
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