Army’s ‘gay soldiers’ photo was staged, is misleading [View all]

[Scurrilous]

Male soldiers holding hands in IDF’s viral photograph are not a couple, only one is gay, and they both serve in spokesman’s unit

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"A picture of two male Israeli soldiers holding hands, posted by Israel’s military spokesman and circulated widely on the web this week as part of gay pride month, was staged and is misleading, The Times of Israel established Tuesday.

The newly hip, multimedia-savvy IDF Spokesperson’s Office posted Monday on its Facebook page a photo of two ostensibly gay soldiers, one seeming to belong to the Givati Brigade and the other to the Artillery Corps, holding hands and walking on a city street.

In fact, the two soldiers in the photo are not a couple, only one of the two is gay, and both the soldiers serve in the IDF Spokesperson’s Office.

The picture appears to have been taken on Itamar Ben Avi street in Tel Aviv, around the corner from the Spokesperson’s Office headquarters.

Contacted by The Times of Israel, the IDF Spokesperson’s Office did not deny the photo was staged, offering the following statement: “The photo reflects the IDF’s open minded attitude towards soldiers of all sexual orientations. The IDF respects the privacy of the soldiers featured in the photograph, and will not comment on their identities.”

http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-gay-soldiers-photo-is-misleading-military-source-says/