Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Israel are considered the most developed in the Middle East and one of the most developed in Asia. Although same-sex sexual activity was legalized in 1988, the former law against sodomy had not been enforced against consenting adults following a directive from the Attorney General in 1953 and a Supreme Court decision in 1963. Israel became the first country in Asia to recognize unregistered cohabitation between same-sex couples, making it the first country in Asia to recognize same-sex unions in any capacity. Although same-sex marriages are not performed in the country, since Israel does not have civil non-religious marriages, and none of the recognized religious marriage institutions within the country perform same-sex marriages, Israeli law recognizes civil marriages (including same-sex marriages since 2006) performed elsewhere with the same legal rights as marriages performed in Israel. Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was prohibited in 1992. Same-sex couples are allowed to jointly adopt, following a landmark court decision in 2008. Previously, stepchild adoption, as well as limited co-guardianship rights for non-biological parents, were permitted. LGBTQ people are also allowed to serve openly in the military.
Tel Aviv was referred to by the Calgary Herald as one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world,"The world's most gay-friendly places". Calgary Herald. 29 June 2011. famous for its annual Pride parade and gay beach, earning it the nickname "the gay capital of the Middle East" by Out magazine. According to users of the website GayCities, it was ranked as the best gay city in 2011, despite reports of some anti-LGBTQ violence during the 2000s, which were criticized by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres. A monument dedicated to the gay victims of the Holocaust was erected in Tel Aviv in 2014.
In 2018, an opinion poll commissioned by an Israeli television channel Channel 10 News reported that 58% of Israeli citizens support the legalization of same-sex marriage, however in 2023 an international poll commissioned by the Pew Research Center reported that only 36% of Israeli citizens support same-sex marriage, while 56% oppose it.
According to a 2025 data from the Pew Research Center, 47% of Israelis view homosexuality as "morally unacceptable". This figure is significantly higher than in many other developed nations, such as Spain (7%) or Sweden (5%).
On 21 June 2020, Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality announced that same-sex couples would have exactly the same rights as opposite-sex marriages there, with this being provided by the municipality.
Legality of same-sex sexual activity
The State of Israel inherited the Buggery Act 1533 as part of the British Mandate's legal code. There is no known record that it was ever enforced against homosexual acts that took place between consenting adults in private in the civilian judicial system. In certain cases, defendants were found guilty of "sodomy" (which according to Israeli law included oral sex as well), apparently by way of plea bargains: those defendants had been indicted for more serious sexual offenses, and homosexuality was also used as a case of "aggravating circumstances" for other sexual offenses. However, there were several cases of soldiers tried for homosexual acts in military courts.
In 1953, the Attorney General of Israel, Haim Cohn, issued a directive ordering the police to refrain from enforcing the law against homosexual acts between consenting adults.Nelson, Cary: Israel Denial: Anti-Zionism, Anti-Semitism, & the Faculty Campaign Against the Jewish State, p. 242 The Israeli Supreme Court likewise ruled in 1963 that the law should not be applied to acts between consenting adults in private. The ban on consensual same-sex sexual acts was formally repealed by the Knesset in 1988 by omitting it from criminal code. The age of consent for both homosexual and heterosexual acts is 16 years of age.
Recognition of same-sex relationships
Between 1994 and 2007, numerous rights were granted to Israeli same-sex couples.
Same-sex marriage cannot legally be performed in Israel. Israeli law allows same-sex marriages performed elsewhere to be registered, but not recognized based upon a 2006 Israeli Supreme Court decision which stated: Before we conclude, let us reemphasize what it is that we are deciding today, and what it is that we are not deciding today. We are deciding that within the context of the status of the population registry as a recorder of statistics, the registration official should register in the population register what is implied by the public certificate that is presented to him by the petitioners, according to which the petitioners are married and in view of the role of the registration official as a collector of statistical material for the purpose of managing the registry...We are not deciding that marriage between persons of the same sex is recognized in Israel; we are not recognizing a new status of such marriages; we are not adopting any position with regard to recognition in Israel of marriages between persons of the same sex that take place outside Israel (whether between Israeli residents or between persons who are not Israeli residents). This ruling was based on a past precedent from the Funk-Schlesinger Case, which had similar rulings for interfaith marriages performed outside of Israel.Talia Einhorn, "Same-Sex Family Unions in Israeli Law," Utrecht Law Review 4, no. 2 (June 2008): 222-235
Civil marriage does not exist in Israel for heterosexual couples either (except where both heterosexual spouses do not belong to any of the recognized religious communities in the country), and therefore only a marriage sanctioned by the small number of officially recognized religious authorities can take place within Israel. (This restriction forces not only same-sex couples, but also all mixed-religion heterosexual couples and any person who wishes a non-religious marriage, to marry outside the country.)
The State of Israel allows foreign partners of its homosexual citizenry to receive residency permits. The Civil Service Commission extends spousal benefits and pensions to the partners of homosexual employees. The Israeli State Attorney's Office has extended the spousal exemption from property-transfer taxes to same-sex couples. Israel's Attorney General has granted legal recognition to same-sex couples in financial and other business matters. Attorney General Meni Mazuz said the couples will be treated the same as common-law spouses, recognizing them as legal units for tax, real estate, and financial purposes. Mazuz made his decision by refusing to appeal a district court ruling in an inheritance case that recognized the legality of a same-sex union, his office said in a statement. Mazuz did differentiate, however, between recognizing same-sex unions for financial and practical purposes, as he did, and changing the law to officially sanction the unions, which would be a matter for Parliament, according to the statement.
The city of Tel Aviv recognizes unmarried couples, including gays and lesbians, as family units and grants them discounts for municipal services. Under the bylaw, unmarried couples qualify for the same discounts on daycare and the use of swimming pools, sports facilities, and other city-sponsored activities that married couples enjoy. On 29 January 2007, following a Supreme Court ruling ordering them to do so, Jerusalem registered its first same-sex couple, Avi and Binyamin Rose.
In 2010, Israel's marriage law was amended with the passage of the Civil Union Law for Citizens with no Religious Affiliation, 2010, allowing an opposite-sex couple to form a civil union in Israel if they are both registered as officially not belonging to any religion.
There have been five failed legislative attempts in the Knesset to recognise same-sex unions. The first attempt was a civil marriage bill, which included provisions for same-sex marriages, introduced by Meretz. The bill was rejected in May 2012 in a 39 to 11 vote, with 70 not attending. The second and third attempts were two similar bills that would have provided for civil unions in Israel for both opposite-sex and same-sex couples; one introduced by Hatnuah, and the other by Yesh Atid. At the same time, Meretz proposed a civil marriage bill, which included provisions for same-sex marriages. On 8 July 2015, the Knesset rejected the Meretz and Yesh Atid bills, in a 39-50 vote, while Hatnuah's bill was rejected on 22 February 2016 in a 40-47 vote. In June 2018, the Knesset rejected a same-sex marriage bill introduced by The Zionist Union. The bill failed by just three votes, 39-42.
In June 2020, it was reported that Tel Aviv will explicitly recognize both civil unions and same-sex marriage from outside Israel. In November 2020, it was also reported that Ramat Gan also will explicitly recognize both civil unions and same-sex marriage from outside Israel. In January 2022 it was announced, that the city of Herzliya will recognize common-law partners / couples and will provide a new service for registering marriages based on an affidavit - confirmation of municipal recognition
Adoption and parenting Adoption by same-sex couples had only been permitted in certain restricted situations, notably when a previous connection exists between the adopting parent and the child, such as being a family member or a foster child. On 10 January 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that a lesbian couple can legally adopt each other's children. During the past 15 years that Tal and Avital Jarus-Hakak had lived together, they had a total of three children. The couple petitioned the Tel Aviv Family Court for the right to formally adopt each other's children in 1997, but the request was rejected because Israel's adoption law had no provisions for same-sex couples. The couple appealed. While they failed to get a favorable ruling in the Tel Aviv District Court, the Supreme Court accepted the case. Citing Article 25 of the Adoption of Children Law of 1981 (; Arabic: ), the Jarus-Hakaks argued that the law allows for "special circumstances" for adoption when it is for the good of the child, even if the child's parents are still alive. The only condition is that the person seeking to adopt be single. The couple argued that since the state does not recognize same-sex marriage, they are single by law. They added that adoption was in the children's best interest if one of their natural mothers should die. The Supreme Court of Israel agreed, ruling 7–2 in favor of the couple. Following the Supreme Court ruling, the couple was allowed to adopt each other's biological children on 12 February 2006. Lesbian couples can also legally gain access to IVF and assisted insemination.
In February 2008, a court ruled that same-sex couples are now permitted to adopt a child even if that child is not biologically related to either parent.AG okays wider adoption rights for same-sex couples , By Yuval Yoaz, 12 February 2008. This marked a watershed in granting equal rights to gay people in Israel. isRealli, the official, but now defunct, blog of the State of Israel, frequently published updates on gay adoption news in Israel. On 10 March 2009, the Tel Aviv Family Court ruled that former Knesset member Uzi Even and his partner, Amit Kama, could legally adopt their 30-year-old foster son, Yossi, making them the first same-sex male couple in Israel whose right of adoption was legally acknowledged.