The mayor of Tel Aviv has accepted an invitation from Copenhagen to send representatives of Tel Aviv to an upcoming international homosexual event in the Danish capital.

Mayor Ron Huldai is hoping to promote homosexual tourism to Tel Aviv, and to the rest of Israel, by setting up a compound at the "World Outgames" homosexual competitions scheduled for July and August 2008 in Copenhagen.

Israeli musicians, dancers, filmmakers and other cultural figures will participate in the event. “This is an opportunity to put Tel Aviv on the world map of gay tourism,” said City Councilmember Itai Pinkas, who was tapped by the mayor to organize the project.

Pinkas recruited Tel Aviv homosexual “pride parade” coordinator Adir Steiner to assist in the effort.

Battle Against “Pride” Parade in Jerusalem Continues
Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, Shas Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Eli Yishai and others filed lawsuits last June in a last-ditch attempt to stop the “pride parade” from marching down the streets of the capital, to no avail. The Supreme Court rejected the petitions, ruling that “freedom of expression” overrides the offense caused to public sensibilities.

Lawmakers subsequently proposed an amendment that would allow Jerusalem city officials to prohibit homosexual or any other parades and rallies in the capital considered offensive to the public’s sensibilities. The bill, sponsored by National Union MK Eliyahu Gabbai, passed its first Knesset reading in June 2007, but has not been sent back to the Knesset plenum for its second and third readings. 

In another attempt to address the issue less than two months ago, members of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee decided to bring Jerusalem’s religious leaders together with homosexual activists to discuss the bill that would change the Basic Law. There has been no mention of such a meeting having taken place, however.

Homosexual activists who attended the committee meeting expressed anger at the proposed legislation, with one insisting, “The right to march in the capital city isn’t a local ‘Jerusalemite’ issue. This is a culture war in which politicians are trying to make Jerusalem their personal property.”

Tourism Ministry ‘Gay’ Campaign Eliminated
A Tourism Ministry campaign to attract homosexual tourism to Israel last year drew fierce criticism from right-wing and religious lawmakers and numerous activist groups.

The “pink Jerusalem” part of the campaign encouraged homosexuals to visit Jerusalem and featured a poster showing two homosexuals kissing against a backdrop of the Old City. The campaign was produced by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and the Homosexuals and Lesbians organization, together with the Tourism Ministry.

National Union-National Religious Party MK Yitzchak Levy pointedly questioned Tourism Minister Yitzchak Aharonovich in July during a Knesset session on the issue, saying international Jewish congregations had expressed outrage at the campaign and the photos.

Aharonovich vehemently denied that the Tourism Ministry was involved in the campaign, adding that he is opposed to holding the ‘pride parade’ in the Holy City. He did not explain why the “Gay Jerusalem” posters included a Tourism Ministry logo. He claimed the campaign had been initiated by his predecessor, Avraham Hirschsohn.

Arutz-7 Coverage Revealed Tourism Ministry Involvement
Arutz-7 found that the poster was not the only outreach vehicle to international homosexual tourists. The entire tourism section of the Israeli Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (IGLBT) community website last summer displayed credits at the bottom of every page thanking the Tourism Ministry for providing the texts and photos.

Tourist recommendations on the site included bits on all parts of Israel, with the Jerusalem section featuring the “Open House” organization, which sponsors the “pride parade” in the capital. Another page on the website was entitled “Gay in the Land of Sodom” and provided a history of the homosexual movement in Israel and how it was able to advance to its current “golden age.”

The IGLBT English-language website site has since been removed and a search of the Ministry of Tourism "Go Israel" website this week found no references to “gay, homosexual, lesbian, bisexual or transgender" on the site.