Hope and Pride in Be’er Sheva

After the stories of creation in the book of Genesis, we read of Noah and the flood. Once the flood waters recede, God makes a covenant with the world that this will never happen again. The symbol of the covenant is the rainbow - that beautiful quirk of nature whereby light (the first thing created in Genesis on day one of creation) refracted through water droplets (which made up the flood that destroyed almost all of creation) disperse into a beautiful spectrum of colours. Rainbows as a pride symbol represent both diversity and unity, unique colours existing together. Rainbows often appear after storms - when light starts to peek through still-dark clouds, at just the right angle, creating a dazzling array.

During Pride Month, I participated in a leaders' trip to Israel through A Wider Bridge, an organization dedicated to connecting LGBTQ+ people in North America and Israel. The nightmare of October 7^th, war in Gaza, and tensions in the north made pride markedly different than the last time I visited Israel in 2019 as part of a 2SLGBTQI+ (Two Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, +) Canadian delegation.

Around Israel, pride events this year focused on calls to free the hostages, support the hundreds of thousands of displaced people, and reach a meaningful ceasefire. As part of our trip, we partnered with Be'er Sheva's Pride House to assist with their local (and still nascent) Pride Week, meaningfully titled "Hope and Pride in Be'er Sheva." Amidst the collective and individual ongoing trauma, we also observed an abiding sense of hope and deep pride.

The stormy aftermath of October 7^th and the impact of the ongoing war were palpable throughout the country. In Tel Aviv's Hostage Square, we met with Gili Roman. Roman's sister, Yarden, was taken hostage on October 7th and was released in the first round of hostage negotiations 53 days later. Roman spoke with a quiet, firm conviction of the ongoing advocacy to free the rest of the hostages as a necessary part of achieving a meaningful ceasefire. He also spoke of the challenges of helping the hostages and their families after experiencing untold trauma. We mourned at the site of the Nova music festival, now filled with monuments honouring the young adults killed, maimed, raped, and taken hostage, as we pledged to dance again. At Kibbutz Be'eri, our guide shared stories of his family and friends who were murdered or taken hostage while we walked through the remains of destroyed homes (among those noted Canadian Israeli peace activist Vivian Silver,z"l, whose memory continues to be for a blessing through the Vivian Silver Impact Award). Our guide himself returned to the kibbutz two weeks after October 7^th to ensure its agricultural work continued. For him, hope and pride manifested in his solemn dedication to restore what was destroyed.

We also met with leaders committed to bringing light and holding on to hope in the midst of the ongoing nightmare of war, honouring the full spectrum of the rainbow. For Tel Aviv municipal councillor and pride leader Itamar Avneri, who is also part of the national leadership of Standing Together and mobilizes Jewish and Palestinian citizens for peace, the lessons of pride and the current moment in Israel are the same. We are all part of a mixed multitude, struggling for society's soul - for equality, justice, and peace. As Avneri emphasized, the majority of residents in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank want to live in peace.

At an Ethiopian restaurant, we (re)connected with queer Arab Israeli activist Muhammad Zoabi and Ofer Ben David Erez, the first openly transgender officer in the IDF and former CEO of the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance, who both continue to work for equality and justice for all. We were warmly welcomed by the leadership of Be'er Sheva's Pride House. Over our few days together, we celebrated our diverse identities, learned about the LGBTQ+ history of the region, celebrated the launch of trans author Ariel A. Pereira's memoir, "Homebound," and volunteered at the local Pride festival. Our tour of the Soroka Medical Centre, the largest hospital in the south, reminded us of the trauma almost everyone we met had endured, as well as their determination, hope, and commitment to a better, more inclusive future. Indeed, we even attended a presentation at the hospital as part of Be'er Sheva's Pride Week highlighting its initiatives to improve LGBTQ+, particularly trans-inclusive, care.

The people I met and what we experienced together during our June pride trip has stayed with me even as we enter the month of Elul, whose Hebrew letters, our sages taught, stand for "Ani L'Dodi V'Dodi Li," "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine." Elul is a month of connection, reconciliation, and hope in preparation for the coming new year. In Hasidic teaching, healing a broken heart with love is a pathway to the divine. Those of us around the world who have experienced marginalization and hate as members of the LGBTQ+ community and as Jews can channel those experiences toward greater compassion and love.

As I reflect on our mission to Israel, so many of the people we met were both traumatized by the past year and still experience systemic marginalization because of who they are. However, through their pain, they have continued to face the world with compassion, hope, and pride. The rainbow symbolizes the connection we all share. May the rainbow forever be a sign of hope and pride, inspiring us to continue working through today's storms for a better tomorrow.