Homosexual Tel Aviv. How’s that for a moniker? Pretty bizarre if you ask me.
Of course that isn’t then name that publicists hired by Israel’s Tourism Ministry and the Tel Aviv’ municiplaity are using. They are using the term ‘Gay Tel Aviv’ in an ad campaign to brand Tel Aviv as one of the homosexual capitals of the world.
That sounds a bit more palatable – even inviting. Kind of like Gay Paris (French pronunciation - and Paris's moniker before the homosexual community co opted the word gay for themselves making them sound less threatening and just - happier!)
But it shouldn’t be inviting or even acceptable. In fact it is a shocking and abhorrent development.
Not that there is anything wrong with being gay. Whether through nature or nurture - people cannot help who they are sexually attracted to. That’s why I have always advocated an attitude of tolerance and understanding of people whose sexual orientation is homosexual. But that does not mean I approve of homosexual behavior. I do not.
The Torah declares that Mishkav Zechor – male homosexual acts - are an abomination and forbidden by Jewish law on a biblical level. But to mistreat someone with such tendencies is itself an abomination in my view. They should be loved and embraced as fellow Jews - fully accepted and integrated into the Jewish community. No one should be judged because of their sexual orientation. Judging fellow Jews is not our department. It’s God’s.
To brand a city as gay goes a lot further than mere tolerance. It actively encourages this behavior and advertizes it as the destination for those who wish to have the ultimate gay experience. That not only legitimizes the behavior – it extols it! Tel Aviv despite its secular character still retains its holy status – Kedushas Eretz Yisroel. This should not only upset heterosexual Jews - it should upset gay Jews. In fact it should upset every human being that ascribes any religious significance to the land of Israel.
This not only sexualizes the city - it sexualizes it to a segment that actively seeks to violate Halacha, inviting homosexuals all over the world to come to the holy land and participate in Toevah – an abomination.
I cannot tell you how upsetting this is to me. It should not only upset straight people – it should upset gay people too. Anyone with any religious sensibilities should be outraged by an attempt to sexualize a city at all – let alone in ways which promote behavior that is clearly forbidden. If there was ever a reason to have a 100,000 man protest – this is it. And it should include all people of faith, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim - no matter what their sexual orientation is.
