Gay Palestinians Flee to Israel
BBC article from a few years ago that I just came across today:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3211772.stm
A number of gay Palestinian men are risking their lives to cross the border into Israel, claiming they feel safer among Israelis than their own people.
Shaul Gonen, of Israel's main gay rights lobbying group, Agudah, told Outlook that under international law Israel is obliged to offer asylum to those that seek it. But, he says, it can refuse if the applicants are from an area the state is in conflict with.
In practice, Palestinian gays end up being placed under virtual house arrest because of the fear that they may be potential suicide bombers.
However, many Palestinian gays say they would still rather live under house arrest in Israel, where homosexuality is not considered a crime, than at home.
However, the Israeli secret service also often exploit gay Palestinians, said Mr Gonen.
He says this usually involves coercing them into working undercover, to gather information about other Palestinians.
The precarious status of the gay community means gay men often end up working for the secret service or as targets for exploitation by Israeli men.
"They work as prostitutes, selling their bodies unwillingly because they have to survive," said Mr Gonen.
"Sometimes the Israeli secret police try to recruit them, sometimes the Palestinian police try to recruit them.
"In the end they find themselves falling between all chairs. Nobody wants to help them, everybody wants to use them."
And more...
At the bath houses of Tel Aviv, “Rani” finds anonymity and sometimes a free buffet. And there is always the chance of meeting an Israeli or a rich tourist who will offer his hotel room for a few nights, no questions asked.
For gay Palestinian runaways such as Rani, life on the street in Israel is a daily calculation of how to survive, but it is still easier than the persecution they say they suffered in the more traditional communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Rights activists estimate that 300 mostly male gay Palestinians are quietly eking out a living in Israel, at risk of being forcibly repatriated because they are illegal immigrants or because police consider them a threat.
“The first danger to them is from family and community, as well as (Palestinian) authorities,” said Donatella Rovera of Amnesty International. “Going to Israel is a one-way ticket, and once there their biggest problem is possibly being sent back.”
Palestinian runaways learn Hebrew quickly, playing down their Arab accents. Hospitals are avoided, and cash put aside for private health care. Those who turn to prostitution learn to spot plainclothes police from a distance.
Fearing that word of their whereabouts might reach vengeful relatives back home, they avoid contact with one another.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3211772.stm
A number of gay Palestinian men are risking their lives to cross the border into Israel, claiming they feel safer among Israelis than their own people.
Shaul Gonen, of Israel's main gay rights lobbying group, Agudah, told Outlook that under international law Israel is obliged to offer asylum to those that seek it. But, he says, it can refuse if the applicants are from an area the state is in conflict with.
In practice, Palestinian gays end up being placed under virtual house arrest because of the fear that they may be potential suicide bombers.
However, many Palestinian gays say they would still rather live under house arrest in Israel, where homosexuality is not considered a crime, than at home.
However, the Israeli secret service also often exploit gay Palestinians, said Mr Gonen.
He says this usually involves coercing them into working undercover, to gather information about other Palestinians.
The precarious status of the gay community means gay men often end up working for the secret service or as targets for exploitation by Israeli men.
"They work as prostitutes, selling their bodies unwillingly because they have to survive," said Mr Gonen.
"Sometimes the Israeli secret police try to recruit them, sometimes the Palestinian police try to recruit them.
"In the end they find themselves falling between all chairs. Nobody wants to help them, everybody wants to use them."
And more...
At the bath houses of Tel Aviv, “Rani” finds anonymity and sometimes a free buffet. And there is always the chance of meeting an Israeli or a rich tourist who will offer his hotel room for a few nights, no questions asked.
For gay Palestinian runaways such as Rani, life on the street in Israel is a daily calculation of how to survive, but it is still easier than the persecution they say they suffered in the more traditional communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Rights activists estimate that 300 mostly male gay Palestinians are quietly eking out a living in Israel, at risk of being forcibly repatriated because they are illegal immigrants or because police consider them a threat.
“The first danger to them is from family and community, as well as (Palestinian) authorities,” said Donatella Rovera of Amnesty International. “Going to Israel is a one-way ticket, and once there their biggest problem is possibly being sent back.”
Palestinian runaways learn Hebrew quickly, playing down their Arab accents. Hospitals are avoided, and cash put aside for private health care. Those who turn to prostitution learn to spot plainclothes police from a distance.
Fearing that word of their whereabouts might reach vengeful relatives back home, they avoid contact with one another.
posted by Moi at 11:07 p.m.
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