36 | APRIL 2 • 2020
T
here’
s an old Israeli
platitude: We’
ll take
your donations; but
until you make the sacrifice
to live here, you have no say
in our affairs.
After moving to Israel
from Birmingham 10
years ago, I now under-
stand this is out of time
with the actual influence
diaspora Jews have on the Jewish
state. In fact, when it comes to
the fight for religious pluralism,
North Americans are the vital
backbone behind Israeli
activists.
In Israel right now, the
minority ultra-Orthodox
political parties (represent-
ing 8% of the country’
s
population, according to
the Pew Research Center)
have outsized influence in
the Knesset, and religious
imperialism has creeped
across society. The country
suffers under the institutional-
ization of the ultra-Orthodox’
s
brand of Judaism, including
legally allowing the ultra-Or-
thodox to abstain from Israeli
Defense Forces conscription;
halting buses on Shabbat; and
creating an effective ultra-Or-
thodox monopoly around the
officiating of conversion, mar-
riage, divorce and funerals. They
have managed to, in some areas,
legally close or impose fines on
businesses that open on Shabbat.
Secular Israeli Jews (40%
of the population) will often
voice their irritation with these
issues. However, most Israelis
are less bothered when it comes
to pluralism at Jerusalem’
s holy
Western Wall, where women
have been arrested and impris-
oned for wearing tallit and tefil-
lin, and bringing in holy Torah
scrolls for religious services.
There are more than 200
Torah scrolls on the men’
s side
for free use and none on the
women’
s side. This is intentional,
because ultra-Orthodox custom
— not Jewish law — forbids
women from reading from the
Torah. In addition, the official
Western Wall “
rulebook” of
laws and traditions states that
women may only pray silently.
If we are menstruating, we are
not allowed to touch the Wall or
I
f you’
re looking to find the
Video Pub in Jerusalem, you
might have to look a little
harder than usual.
Located in a little niche a
floor up from street level, the
only official gay bar in the city
hides from the undiscerning eye.
Occasionally, you might find
a pride flag hanging at the top
of the stairs, leading not only
to the bar but also to a small
Eritrean church. Children from
the church often spend the early
hours of the night asking the
Video’
s bartender questions. I
know, because as a bartender
there, I used to answer them.
Chances are, though, you will
see nothing of gay significance
as you approach the place. The
magic hides inside.
The block where the Video is
located is dubbed by the workers
of the area “
the district.
” That’
s
partially because most of the
businesses on the block (a dance
club, two other bars, a restaurant,
a French fry stand and a queer,
feminist, vegetarian/vegan café)
have the same group of owners.
But the name mostly reflects
the queer-friendly nature of the
whole area. Working in “
the dis-
trict” is something a lot of queer
people in Jerusalem have done
or will do in their lifetime; it’
s an
experience that makes you feel
you belong somewhere.
Open for almost a decade now
(eight years, to be precise), the
Video is the spiritual successor to
the first official gay bar to have
opened in the city in 2011, the
Mikveh, which has by now been
closed for about five years.
Jerusalem is not an easy city
to live in; not only the heart of
every conflict that plagues the
country, from Israel/Palestine
to the relations between state
and religion, it’
s also the heart of
the conflict surrounding LGBT
rights and queer people’
s safety.
There are people who believe
we desecrate the holy city with
our mere presence, and local
reactions to our visibility range
from dirty looks to physical
violence — necessitating an
abundance of cops and security
during Pride marches.
The existence of a gay bar in
Jerusalem is not trivial, its suc-
cess even less so, as the closing
of the Mikveh shows. Ask any
queer person in Jerusalem if
they feel safe being visible, and
MICHAEL ELIAS
A bartender mixes drinks in the Video Pub.
A Personal History
of Jerusalem’s Only
Official Gay Bar
The Video Pub is a valuable queer
space in the holy city, and it may not
survive COVID-19.
MICHAEL ELIAS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
eretz
brought to you in partnership with
www.WalkForIsrael.org
Join us. Sunday, May 3, 2020
Zionism is NOT a Spectator Sport
Even if you’
re not Israeli, your Jewish voice counts in
determining the Jewish values of the Jewish State.
Pamela
Franklin
Azaria
Contributing
Writer
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