Share
Inside Israel with Joel Chasnoff
LGBTQ TLV
Ep. 85
•
Tel Aviv’s Pride Parade isn’t just a spectacle; it’s the second largest in Asia and ranks among the top ten worldwide!
The city has embraced its reputation as a gay-friendly tourist hotspot, and the IDF prides itself on being one of the most LGBTQ-inclusive militaries globally. Remarkably, the Israeli army has allowed soldiers to serve openly since the early 1990s—long before the U.S. repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Today, the IDF even covers sex-change surgeries for trans soldiers who meet certain criteria.
But the journey isn’t without its hurdles. Same-sex couples, for instance, still can’t marry within Israel’s borders; they have to travel to places like Cyprus or Greece to tie the knot officially. And adopting a child as a gay couple? It's still an uphill battle.
On this episode of Inside Israel, we chat with LGBTQ activist Jay Rosen. Jay reveals a surprising statistic that sheds light on how young Israelis perceive Tel Aviv. He also shares an unofficial yet bold claim that might astonish you: up to one-third of Tel Aviv’s population could be gay, lesbian, or queer.
In the "Hebrew is Magic" segment, Jay dives into the word freier and how it connects to his experience teaching Hebrew to new immigrants in ulpan.
---------------
Support Inside Israel: Contribute
To learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast
Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.com
Joel’s tour schedule: www.joelchasnoff.com/shows
Joel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff
Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books
More episodes
View all episodes
127. Parenting in Times of War
21:06||Season 3, Ep. 127Joel talks about parenting in times of war — parents trying to work in cafes with babies in strollers, grandparents helping out, frustration with Zoom school, and his personal sense of guilt that he can't parent better. Plus a news update on what's happening in Israel as we move into Passover.---------------Support Inside Israel: ContributeBook Joel during his spring/fall 2026 lecture and comedy tour: www.joelchasnoff.comTo learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.comJoel’s tour schedule: www.joelchasnoff.com/showsJoel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books126. The Hidden Enemy
28:32||Season 3, Ep. 126Joel talks about one of the biggest surprises of the current war – Hezbollah — and the Israeli feeling that they were lied to by a government who assured them this Iranian proxy in Lebanon had been defeated, once and for all. ---------------Support Inside Israel: ContributeBook Joel during his spring/fall 2026 lecture and comedy tour: www.joelchasnoff.comTo learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.comJoel’s tour schedule: www.joelchasnoff.com/showsJoel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books125. Israel’s Secret Plan…And What’s Next
23:39||Season 3, Ep. 125As Israel enters its third week of war with Iran, we look at the IDF's secret plan to keep Iran off-guard before the strike, where things stand now, and whether Israel's strategy makes me bullish or bearish on what comes next.---------------Support Inside Israel: ContributeBook Joel during his spring/fall 2026 lecture and comedy tour: www.joelchasnoff.comTo learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.comJoel’s tour schedule: www.joelchasnoff.com/showsJoel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books124. War with Iran: Hezbollah’s Gift
32:59||Season 3, Ep. 124Two weeks into what may be a long war, Joel reports from Ra'anana on how Israeli families are coping — and why Hezbollah's decision to join the fight may turn out to be a gift.---------------Support Inside Israel: ContributeBook Joel during his spring/fall 2026 lecture and comedy tour: www.joelchasnoff.comTo learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.comJoel’s tour schedule: www.joelchasnoff.com/showsJoel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books123. War with Iran: Update, from Joel’s Bomb Shelter
33:16||Season 3, Ep. 123Joel shares what Israelis are saying, thinking, and feeling about the war with Iran — from his underground bomb shelter in his apartment building.---------------Support Inside Israel: ContributeBook Joel during his spring/fall 2026 lecture and comedy tour: www.joelchasnoff.comTo learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.comJoel’s tour schedule: www.joelchasnoff.com/showsJoel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books122. Mishmash
22:54||Season 3, Ep. 122On this week's episode, Joel covers a mishmash of topics — including a surprising revelation about a group of Israelis who were actually hoping for a war with Iran.---------------Support Inside Israel: ContributeBook Joel during his spring/fall 2026 lecture and comedy tour: www.joelchasnoff.comTo learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.comJoel’s tour schedule: www.joelchasnoff.com/showsJoel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books121. “Nice House!” (For Now)
29:57||Season 3, Ep. 121Joel revisits real estate in Israel — one of the topics he's emailed about the most — with a focus on how you never really know what you're getting when you buy.---------------Support Inside Israel: ContributeBook Joel during his spring/fall 2026 lecture and comedy tour: www.joelchasnoff.comTo learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.comJoel’s tour schedule: www.joelchasnoff.com/showsJoel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books120. My Big Fat Israeli Wedding
24:15||Season 3, Ep. 120Joel explores Israeli culture through one of its most exciting and misunderstood phenomena — the Israeli wedding — where jeans are optional, weddings are massive, and there's no registry because all gifts are known ahead of time.---------------Support Inside Israel: ContributeBook Joel during his spring/fall 2026 lecture and comedy tour: www.joelchasnoff.comTo learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.comJoel’s tour schedule: www.joelchasnoff.com/showsJoel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books119. 3 Memories
40:30||Season 3, Ep. 119For the first time since 2014, there are no hostages in Gaza — and instead of marking the moment with a timeline or recap, Joel gets personal, pulling up three Israel-related memories from the last twelve years. It's not about the big headlines; it's about what actually stuck.---------------Support Inside Israel: ContributeBook Joel during his spring/fall 2026 lecture and comedy tour: www.joelchasnoff.comTo learn more about Inside Israel, and to submit a question for Joel to answer on-air, visit www.joelchasnoff.com/podcast Sign up for Joel’s newsletter, Hebrew Is Magic: www.joelchasnoff.comJoel’s tour schedule: www.joelchasnoff.com/showsJoel on Instagram: @joelchasnoff Israel 201, co-authored by Joel and Benji Lovitt and Winner of the 2023 National Jewish Book Award: www.joelchasnoff.com/books