RAINBOW SIG I s r a e L G B T Q . . . (c o n t ’ ) 1. QUEER TOUR OF JERUSALEM Moti, a gay Jerusalemite and tour guide will show us the queer Jerusalem that most visitors and residents don’t know about! 2. QUEER PEOPLE IN PALESTINIAN, MUSLIM AND ARAB SOCIETIES A gay Palestinian will speak to us about the challenges of being queer in Muslim, Arab and Palestinian societies. 3. QUEER POLITICS IN ISRAEL The heads of queer interest groups from two political parties will speak about their agreements and disagreements in Israeli politics! 4. LGBTECH IN ISRAEL What is it like to be queer in the Israeli workplace? How do companies support their queer employees? Let’s tour Microsoft Israel and find out! 5. QUEER TOUR OF TEL AVIV ‘Rainbow Tour TLV’ will show us around a city famous for being an internationally acclaimed queer vacation destination! 6. IDF AND TRANSGENDERS The CEO of the Jerusalem Open House will speak to us about his experiences in the IDF, and how his transition was not only tolerated, but supported. 7. JUDAISM AND LGBTQ Does Judaism see queer people? Are they allowed in Orthodox spaces? What experiences do queer Orthodox Jews go through? An expert on Judaism and sexuality will explain the different perspectives. 8. MEETING PLACE Meet with queer dialogue activists about their work in Jerusalem with people that disagree with them, and join their dialogue circles for our final event! My reasons for creating the program were personal and professional, as was my satisfaction from it. Every session taught us something new about the intersection of queer identity and Israeli society. Even when I thought I had nothing new to learn, experiencing my reality through the experiences of international students allowed me to look at my reality from a different perspective. I specifically remember the session we had about queer identity and Judaism. As a person that grew up Orthodox, I have avoided Jewish text study for many years due to the struggles I experienced while studying Jewish texts during my closeted high school years. Going back to the texts I studied while closeted, but this time as a proud gay man accompanied by diverse international students in Israel, brought me to tears. After the program ended, students freely shared how meaningful the program was for them. Whether it was because of their queer identity, Jewish identity or simply human identity – diving into one main issue and how it intersects with different aspects of Israeli society allowed them to have a deeper study abroad experience, while also providing room for reflecting on issues in their homes. I encourage all international educators, queer or not, to create a program that allows students to deeply engage with key issues in the country in which they are studying – the experience will provide tremendous insight into the country in which they live, themselves, and their homes. V O L U M E 2 5 , N U M B E R 1 , F A L L 2 0 1 8
PA G E 10