Israel, A Liberal’s Paradise
On pot and gays, the left rules
November 04, 2010
Gili Shem Tov (R) and her dancing partner rehearse.(Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)
Are you a liberal upset over Tuesday’s results? Then have we got a country for you!
Starting next week, non-Jewish or -affiliated same-sex couples will be able to enter into civil unions. The bill’s sponsor wants to extend the law to all Israelis, including Jews; incredibly, the sponsor is none other than Yisrael Beiteinu MK David Rotem, notorious for sponsoring the heinous conversion bill. Even a blind squirrel catches an occasional nut, eh?
On top of that, an Israeli Health Ministry committee has made a new recommendation concerning medicinal marijuana. Not that it should be legalized—it already is legalized, natch—but that the country’s universal health care should pay for it.
And on the social front, two Israeli women became the first same-sex duo to compete together in a version of Dancing With The Stars. The “star” in this case was sportscaster Gili Shem Tov, a sportscaster who did the cha-cha. Shem Tov, a lesbian, said “it felt natural.” (Oh, and to answer your next question: They take turns leading.)
Knesset Committee Paves Way for Civil Unions [JTA]
Government May Cover Cost of Medicinal Marijuana [Haaretz]
Israel: New Step for Dance Contest [NYT]
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.
