Reply #7: you forgot this...

[Viva_La_Revolution]

:sarcasm:


Sexual minorities were until recently largely invisible in Israeli public discourse, and Israelis have traditionally viewed homosexuality with disdain. For the past decade, however, Israeli sexual minorities have rapidly been gaining legal rights and greater acceptance.

Due to both its sustained personnel needs and a recognition of the importance of military service to full societal acceptance, the IDF has never formally barred homosexuals from serving in its ranks. Before 1980, an admission of homosexuality would likely result in dismissal. In 1983, the military adopted regulations which officially allowed homosexuals to serve in the military. Sexual minorities were, however, prohibited from serving in intelligence positions and made to undergo additional psychological tests.

Improvements in both the legal and social standing of sexual minorities in Israel gave rise to changes within the military as well. In 1993, the IDF repealed the security restrictions against sexual minorities, and it more recently granted a widower same-sex benefits rights.

Security and mental health officials for the IDF have found that sexual minorities adapt to military life as well as heterosexuals. Scholars studying the issue have also determined that gay combat soldiers adopt similar methods of adjusting to military life as their heterosexual colleagues. Homosexuality appears to be peripheral to these soldiers preoccupations, and they reveal few problems associated with their sexual orientation.

http://www.gaymilitary.ucsb.edu/Publications/IsraelPub1.htm