Greetings,
When I came to the mayor, Ron Huldai, as an inexperienced council member in the autumn of 2003 and explained to him that I had made a commitment to my voters to set up a municipal center for the gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual community, a pair of startled, light blue eyes opened wide before me and a question was fired—“Who told you there’s a need for that kind of center?!” My instinctive response was—“You’re right, I’ll look into it, I need a modest budget for this purpose.” The budget was provided, and it made possible the holding of one of the most detailed surveys, and certainly the most significant, in the history of the glbt community in Israel.
Since then, five years have passed full of work, events, and experiences. The Pride Parade has become a municipal event with full budgeting from the City of Tel Aviv - Yaffo, additional organizations are benefiting from the municipality’s discretionary budget and their overall budget has grown, and the establishment of a monument to the memory of the glbt victims of the Nazi regime has been approved. It will also serve as a memorial to the victims of hatred toward those with a different sexual orientation or gender identity.
But the greatest achievement of all is the establishment of a municipal center, among the first of its kind in the world, to serve the glbt community—a center for culture and empowerment. It not only was established with the full funding of the municipality but by the municipality, and its workers are the municipality workers, so that the current budget is a municipal budget that comes from us taxpayers’ pockets. The building is a beauty, three floors and about 1000 square meters (10,000 square feet), wonderfully renovated in a central and pastoral location called Meir Park.
One really can say that in the advanced cities of the world, it has taken two decades and more to carry out such far-reaching work to promote the status of the glbt community. All of us together have achieved that in only less than five years. When I took my first steps as a twenty-four-year-old volunteer in the national glbt association – the Aguda, a little more than ten years ago, I could only have dreamed about this.
My wish to all of us that the center will give the community a new meaning and will be our showcase both inwardly and outwardly.
Itai Pinkas
Chairperson of the center
Adviser to the Mayor on Glbt Affairs
The city of Tel Aviv – Yafo, celebrating its 100 anniversary, has inaugurated in January 2008 the Municipal G.L.B.T. Community Center.
Tel Aviv – Yafo celebrate more than 30 years of institutionalized PRIDE activities, which includes community organization sizzling with volunteers activities, events with hundreds of participants, social activities to satisfy every age and support services for the community members and families.
Establishing the Center, which acts as the primary accommodation for G.L.B.T. organizations, serves as a symbol and exemplary for the cultural pluralism and civil-liberated society, the foundation on which the first Hebrew city was established.
The L.G.B.T. Municipal Survey
In summer 2004, as part of the municipal pride events, the Gay-Municipal Survey was carried-out in order to identify the social and cultural needs of the G.L.B.T. community in the city as they will reflect, in practice, with the running of the Municipal GLBT Community Center.
The survey pointed out 6 different themes, serving today as the focal point of the center:
1. Cultural center for art, theater, cinema, music & dance.
2. Social activities: support groups to satisfy every age - youth,
adults and elderly, facing difficulties with sexual identity and
their families.
3. Incubator for grassroots groups: empowerment of gay youth,
women, religious, parents, immigrants, transgender, elderly, HIV
positive and family members.
4. Support services: psychological support for the individual and
families, legal and health counseling.
5. Education and recreation: workshops and classes of arts,
dance, theater and therapy.
6. “Our very own café” – a pleasant and welcoming spot inviting
Everybody to meet in a tranquil and safe ambiance.
The corner stones of G.L.B.T. Community Center
The base on which The Municipal GLBT Center was established is humanity, humanity in which all individuals, in every age, are entitled for fundamental rights of resources. These resources provide secure space, wellbeing, self-determination and consolation services for people with troubles in accepting their sexual orientation.
The community center acts as a direct branch of the municipality of
Tel – Aviv - Yafo, in its role as provider of civil services for the public; developing social frame works which support its varied residents including the G.L.B.T. community.
- The Center will act as a the cornerstone for volunteer initiatives empowerment .
- Cultural development and facilitate the growth of the G.L.B.T. community, proud and united.
- The Center will operate a performance hall for cultural events and be the focal point for performance arts of the community.
- The Center will be the home of the GLBT community organizations, will inspire to empower them, and support the operation of their numerous volunteers, share of knowledge and mediate different co-operations.
- The Center will run professional support services for those facing difficulties with accepting their sexual orientation and their families.
- The Center will lead cultural and social initiatives to spread tolerance and pluralism in the Israeli society of its varied population, and serve as a model and exemplary for welcoming any minority into the mainstream.
- The Center will inspire to drive forward the recognition of artistes, and assist in exposing their work to a wider public.
- The Center will direct a research center dedicated to the community, commemoration the legacy of the community in the Jewish people and also in the Holocaust.
- The Center will initiate cultural and social activities for understanding and appreciating the heritage of Israel, and initiate social events to bring together youth of Jewish communities overseas and in Israel.
- The center will encourage incoming tourism to Israel and representing of The city of Tel Aviv – Yafo as a liberal, cultural city taking part in international G.L.B.T. events.
- Since its inauguration The Community Center is in constant developing progress. The center's stuff is open for new ideas and suggestions.
The volunteers are the core and essence of Community Center. If you wish to give a hand to the community, your place is with us. Click "volunteer" at the top of our homepage and get involved!
