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Friday September 6, 2002

Gays in vanguard of pluralism, Israeli activist says in S.F.

JOE ESKENAZI
Bulletin Staff

Jerusalem is one of the world's most diverse cities. Some see this as a weakness. Hagai El-Ad believes it should be a strength.

"Jerusalem can be divided into three equal parts, equal in number but in no other way: Jewish secular, Jewish Orthodox and Palestinian. The common wisdom is it's better if they don't meet, because if they do, they'll throw stones at each other or shoot each other -- or worse. But we break these barriers, because we have to," said El-Ad, the executive director of the Jerusalem Open House, a gay and lesbian community center.

"Diversity isn't celebrated, segregation is celebrated. But since gays and lesbians come from all communities in the city, naturally we break this segregation. We want a center that reflects the diversity that is Jerusalem."

El-Ad said gays and lesbians are among the scant number of Jerusalemites actively pursuing the now rather unpopular goal of pluralism -- making his Ben Yehuda Street center "one of the fewer and fewer sane corners of Jerusalem."

"This is quite a statement," said El-Ad with a laugh. "Until 15 years ago, gays and lesbians were considered the crazy people. But actually, there is a lot of sanity reflected in what the center is doing."

The 32-year-old Ph.D. student in astrophysics estimates roughly 1,000 people utilize his center every month. The gay-lesbian split is roughly 50-50, and 80 percent of the clientele is Jewish and secular, with Orthodox Jews and a few dozen Palestinians making up the rest.

As many as 30 separate groups -- including friends of gays and lesbians, teen gatherings and the Orthodykes -- meet at the house, while a number of individuals, noting the prominent rainbow flag, drop in for counseling or other services.

And, despite the center's location deep in the heart of what many refer to as "Israel's Ground Zero," El-Ad says clients have not stayed away.

In fact, El-Ad helped to organize Jerusalem's first gay pride parade, which took place in June despite protests from the city's fervently religious. Jerusalem, he says, was the last major Western capital to have never hosted a gay pride parade.

"I'm very proud to say we haven't canceled a single activity, even on the day of a suicide bombing down the block, which happened so many times especially in the month of March," said the director, recently in town on a 10-day North American fund-raising tour.

"A few hours after a shooting down the street, teenagers called to make sure they would be meeting that evening as they always do. That's a very strong statement. It's happening because people need it. And at this time, they need it even more. That's the reason people have managed to overcome their very justified fears. That's the reason our staff is still taking the bus every morning on the way to work."

El-Ad proudly points out that Jerusalem Open House is the only gay and lesbian center in the region to publish materials in both Hebrew and Arabic or to employ a Palestinian outreach coordinator.

The Web site -- www.gay.org.il/joh/ eng/home_eng.htm -- offers a choice of Hebrew, Arabic or English.

Of course, it's one thing to reach out to Palestinians and another to convince them to make the trip to downtown Jerusalem.

"It's very difficult for Palestinians to come to the center of Jerusalem. They are very likely to be stopped on the way and be asked what they're doing here," said El-Ad. "For a Palestinian gay person to answer an Israeli police officer, 'I'm going to the gay center,' I don't know if this is a good answer. It's a scary answer."

When asked why gays and lesbians would choose to live in Jerusalem -- a conservative, divided city where even the deputy mayor went on record as saying, "The very existence of these people is a provocation" -- El-Ad's answer is concise: It's home.

"Tel Aviv is 45 minutes away and 2,000 years apart. But those who love Jerusalem indeed love it," said El-Ad, who was born in Haifa and moved to Jerusalem in 1991 following his military hitch. "It's not about building a gay ghetto in Jerusalem. We are one of the communities of the city, and we deserve to claim our place in the public sphere."

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