Tel Aviv’s annual Pride Parade felt less like a parade than a city-wide party.
Focused on supporting the transgender community, the city’s 17th Pride Festival was Israel’s largest-ever gay pride event with over 180,000 people marching, and about 30,000 tourists who came for the event.
The entire city felt brighter, with rainbow hues of the Gay Pride flags visible everywhere, from the walls and tables of cafes and shops on Rothschild Boulevard to the flags hung from balconies, porticoes and entrances of buildings in every Tel Aviv neighborhood.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories
Free Sign Up
Native Israelis, new immigrants and first-time visitors took to the streets together in celebration, in a raucous expression of individuality as well as a broader sense of community and support.
And the parade, held on Friday morning, June 12, was a powerful statement that Tel Aviv supports its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
The conditions for transgender Israelis and the larger LGBT community have improved in recent years, said Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai at the beginning of the festivities, although he reminded the crowd that more needs to be done.
Greetings from the Vaccination Nation
One tiny country has led the world in COVID vaccination. If Israel’s achievement makes you proud, there’s something you should know. Huge audiences have flocked to The Times of Israel recently from countries where Israel normally makes the news only because of its conflicts.
They’ve been coming here to read a very different kind of article. We’ve been the go-to site for everyone intrigued by the success story of the “Vaccination Nation.”
As ToI's Health and Science correspondent, I’ve written much of this coverage - and it’s been exhilarating to see its impact. Our journalism has inspired many articles in media outlets worldwide. I know this because international journalists have often contacted me for input.
Your support, through The Times of Israel Community, helps us to continue providing surprising, impressive stories from this small state to readers around the world. Will you join our Community today?
Thank you,
Nathan Jeffay, Health & Science Correspondent
Join our Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You’re serious. We appreciate that!
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we come to work every day - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
comments