Film Festival Review: Undressing Israel

This weeks film, Undressing Israel, was a documentary about the gay community in Israel. With Israel being known as the “holy land,” people may see it as more religious, old-fashioned, right-wing, and what typically goes with the three - anti-gay. However, this documentary broke down these stereotypes with interviews from all sorts of people in the community. People spoke about attitudes they have experienced from various aspects of society, such as the army, media, nightlife, and politics. Decades ago, Israel was not as accepting of the gay community. Being gay was stigmatized not only politically but also socially, and people were afraid to “come out.” However, society has changed drastically in the years since then, because people fought for their rights. Whether it was a filmmaker producing the first film which positively portrayed gay people, or organizations that helped gay parenting to become more accessible and accepted, people within the community worked hard and “built its rights,” breaking down discrimination wherever it was found. Now, Israel has come to a point where politically, gay people are much more accepted in society.

Although there is still work to be done in changing public opinions, especially among certain religious groups, most people in society are very accepting and open to the gay community. People are not afraid to be out in the army, and there is not such thing as a “gay bar” in Tel Aviv since all of them are gay friendly. I was impressed with how positively people spoke about their experiences there, really showing how much love they had for the country and its people. They were grateful to be living there, in a place that felt so open, warm, and safe to be openly gay.

- Rebecca Stolarov ('22)

TFI Communications Va'adah