A new project by IGY (Israel Gay Youth) is offering evening tours of LGBT Tel Aviv as part of a new outreach program to bridge businesses, LGBT history and social awareness.
Tel Aviv Gay Pride, 1998 (Photo by Gadi Sasson)
IGY is welcoming tourists arriving in Tel Aviv for the annual LGBT Pride Parade through a new project, RainbowTourTLV. The projects offers tourists a historic and exciting tour of Tel Aviv, dubbed the LGBT-capitol of the Middle East.
RainbowTourTLV tour guides, all volunteers of IGY with a unique connection to the community, will shine a new light on central Tel Aviv and its history during the two-hour tour. The tour, in cooperation with the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality and “Global City,” weaves the history of the LGBT community in Israel and around the world, presenting the struggle of a minority who bravely fight for self-expression and equal rights.
The tour begins at the Shenkin Gardens, where the first ever Tel Aviv LGBT Pride was gathered, and will walk through all of the important social, cultural and judicial “Pink Points” around the city that have shaped the community and the human rights campaign in Israel.
IGY has been an active non-profit organization for over 14 years, offering more than 80 social groups all over Israel for LGBT and questioning youth. These groups, which meet on a weekly basis, offer youth an opportunity to discuss and learn about their sexuality in a safe and open environment. All proceeds from this project go to fund these activities.
“This project was born out of a desire to receive funding while promoting social awareness,” explains Mandy Michaeli, Co-CEO of IGY. “Because government funding for LGBTQ organizations is minimal, we decided to begin our own project to not only raise funds, but to also make direct contact with tourists by offering them a historic perspective of the equal rights struggle we have been and continue to fight. Knowing the history of the struggle we have been fighting for is of high value for IGY as an organization that represents the future of the LGBT community.”
To reserve your spot for the tour, go to: https://ticks.co.il/event.php?i=uA2OVY1l7G2
For more details on the RainbowTourTLV write to: rainbowtourtlv@gmail.com