The XXI edition of the PRIDE of Tel Aviv closes with spectacular figures
GAYLES.TV.- This could be a chronicle of the use of what has been the PRIDE from Tel Aviv, we could collect the figures, which certainly have overflowed any forecast (more than 250.000 people paraded in the PRIDE PARADE), to delve into the wounding of the boycott advocated by many leftist groups and European LGTBI organizations or to point to the indecent appropriation of PRIDE by others from the right. But no, we will not do that, because deep down no one knows what he is talking about, nobody has asked the people of the LGTBI collective of the Middle East how they live this PRIDE, nobody has spoken with the activists of the country to ask them what is the power celebrate this PRIDE, nobody has deepened in the situation of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals in Israel and in the surrounding countries. And that is why we went there, to talk, to ask, to live, to feel this PRIDE where it is celebrated, in Tel Aviv.
And what we have lived, the answers we have obtained, the discovery of a reality as rich as complex is so broad that it is impossible to explain it in a single text. So today we will tell you here what this 2019 edition has been and very soon we will try in another article to explain the LGTBI situation in the Middle East, specifically in Israel, without filters.
And this issue of the struggle and recognition of LGBTI rights in Tel Aviv is nothing new and the figures show: 21 years have already celebrated the PRIDE with an agenda as diverse and rich as it can not be bounced that year after year attracts more and more visitors from all over the planet to a city that combines tradition and cosmopolitanism, integration, diversity and respect.
If something immediately leaps into view when arriving in Tel Aviv, it is the presence of LGTBI flags, thousands of them populate the avenues, hang from the balconies, we see them in shops, bars, restaurants, barber shops, markets, lanterns, trees, terraces, buses, bicycles, beaches and hotels. And they are everywhere making the multicolored city shine under a scorching sun, while at nightfall the colors of the rainbow are projected on many of the city's facades.
The shotgun of exit was given by the actor Neil Patrick Harris, PRIDE official ambassador TEL AVIV who, together with her husband, inaugurated the PRIDE events at a press conference at the hotel NYX. Media from all countries witnessed a brief and emotional appearance in which he stated that "Tel Aviv Pride has become an important symbol of LGBTQ visibility and acceptance on the world stage".
Impossible to talk about all the parties here, the big parties like the RAVE for women outdoors or the super MEGA PRIDE without forgetting, of course the essential PAPA & Gym of the national gay hero Eliad Cohen. But Tel Aviv is not just night and party, many traveled to the Shefayim Water Park to live the POOL PARTY on its water slides and dance in the wave pool. While the laziest roasted in the sun on the immense sandy beaches of its coastline, especially in the Hilton Bay Beach which has long been considered one of the most glamorous gay beaches in the Mediterranean.
Impossible to get in these lines smells of spices floating in the air, the breeze on the night terraces, breakfast in the gardens of the LGBTQ CENTER (which for certain celebrates its 10º anniversary), the languid sunset on the beaches that cover the entire coastline or the hundreds of couples of gays and lesbians who walk hand in hand through the streets of a city that does not speak of tolerance, but of respect and integration.
Of course there have been exhibitions, thematic talks on various topics that affect the collective, debates and, of course, the spectacular PRIDE PARADE Last Friday he traveled the main streets of the heart of the city to end at the beach where the crowd could see the traditional parade of floats. A quarter of a million souls but above all of bodies marched under the jets of water that were launched from balconies to refresh the high temperatures. Flags of all countries, costumes, multicolored angel wings, crowded paraditas, concerts, music, dancing and joy.
But there was also room for vindication: groups of people denounced with banners the conflict with the neighbor Palestine, the occupation and what has come to be called PINKWASHING or the use of PRIDE Tel Aviv as a form of image washing of the Israeli government in the face of the distrust of many North American and European liberals regarding their policies in relation to countries like Palestine. In the next article we will expand on this topic, but to speak with justice we must recognize that the rights of LGTBI people in the rest of the countries of the Middle East simply do not exist, they are not respected at all. In fact the PRIDE TEL AVIV is the best PRIDE of the Middle East among other things because it is the only one.
And we do not extend any more because, as we mentioned before, we hope to present you with a deeper analysis on the real situation of LGTBI rights in Israel.
Shalom from Tel Aviv !!
Photography: Guy-Yechiely
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