Although in recent years we have witnessed growing recognition in the Israeli public and legal arenas of gay and lesbian rights, the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered) community still faces various forms of discrimination by government authorities and the private sector, and its members are often the target of speech and behavior that portray them as unworthy of existence.
ACRI has achieved many significant victories in the struggle for gay and lesbian rights, in particular concerning the rights of same-sex couples. In 2006, for example, the Supreme Court accepted ACRI’s petition obligating the Interior Ministry’s Population Registry to register the marriages of same-sex couples who marry outside Israel. ACRI has also submitted several legal interventions demanding that the Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade be allowed to take place in the face of fierce opposition in recent years.
In the photo above: ACRI staff march in the Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade, June 2007.
Resources on LGBT Rights:
Protecting and Promoting LGBT Rights in Israel: A List of ACRI’s Achievements over the Past Two Decades, February 2009
Takoma Park Couple Closer to Same-Sex Israeli Adoption.” Washington Jewish Week, February 13, 2008
Israel to Register Adoptions by Same-Sex Couples, January 2008
The Jerusalem Post, December 9, 2007
High Court to Deliberate Anew on Adoptions by Same-Sex Couples, December 2007
In Landmark Ruling, Court Orders the State to Register Overseas Same-Sex Marriages, November 2006
ACRI and the Jerusalem Open House’s petition demanding permit for Jerusalem March for Pride and Tolerance, September 2006
