Homosexuality and the Military

Israeli soldiers working together no matter what their sexual orientation is.

To the normal citizen in the United States, the military is something of an option, but for an Israeli, the military is a period in their life, that must be followed. Serving in the Israel Defense Forces is compulsory in Israel for both men and women except for Israeli Arabs, students engaged in religious studies in an accredited Jewish Law institution , and women who are married, are pregnant or who have children as well as other reasons. All eligible men and women are drafted once they turn 18 years old; men serving for 3 years and women for 2 years and after, until they are 40-45 years old, they serve in the reserves for a month each year.

In this June 25, 2009,  Israeli soldiers march in the gay pride parade in Jerusalem.

For the last 17 years, Israel has taken it a step further than most when it comes to who they allow to enter the military. They are 1 of 24 countries that allow openly gay individuals to serve in the military since the early 1990s and they can serve without fear of discrimination or harassment. Well not actually allow, but require them to. In Israel, sexual identity doesn’t present any formal barriers in terms of a soldier’s eligibility for promotion or their military specialization. David Saranga, a former IDF officer, said “It's a non-issue... You can be a very good officer, a creative one, a brave one and be gay at the same time.”

Out-of the-closet gays are treated no differently than straights. One Israeli soldier said, "I had thought Israel was less tolerant than the United States, but when I enlisted, I never witnessed any morale problems caused by homosexuals and didn't really hear any homophobic talk--nothing along the lines of 'He shouldn't be serving.' There were openly gay soldiers I encountered, but no one seemed to resent it. It's not even an issue. I don't know why it is in America."

Eli Kaplan, who was inducted into the Israel military 8 years ago, says that when he went in for his psychological assessment he was never asked about his sexual orientation, even though he told the interviewer anyway that he was openly gay. Kaplan ended up serving in the navy’s most elite units as a drill sergeant for incoming mechanics. He never encountered any problems or homophobia during the three years in the IDF. Kaplan even says certain intelligence and naval units were known for having a large proportion of gay soldiers. Kaplan goes on to express that he believes that the Israeli society is much less homophobic than other countries and bashes on the U.S. policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Since 1993, the right to be openly gay has been acknowledged in the IDF and there is really no evidence to suggest that this policy has caused problems. Even beyond the army, Israeli law has generally been progressive in issues of sexual orientation.

For some, the military has even been the steppingstone that they needed to come out to the world. One soldier talks about how the military helped him solidify his sexual orientation. The military is full of hardships, so this brings about strong friendships and bonds. When he finally opened up, he found that the reactions were always supportive, and his friends would say “we know you are a good fighter and a member of the team.” This helped him come out to his family and eventually find a partner. He served in an elite unit, even though most of the officers knew, but that didn’t mean he was a bad soldier and no one held it against him.

The point is, maybe we should all follow Israel's lead.