Illustration
Photo: Gali Tibbon
Gay man to be compensated for humiliation
Lifeguard on Tiberias beach uses loudspeaker to tell off homosexual couple making out in water ; young man to receive NIS 5,000 in compensation from municipality
What is the value of a hug? Quite a lot, if you live in Tiberias. A resident of the northern city, who was making out with his male partner on the beach and was told off in public by a lifeguard with a loudspeaker, will receive a compensation of NIS 5,000 (about USD 1,117) from the municipality and its economic company.
At first, the young man filed a lawsuit against the municipality, but the parties eventually reached a compromise outside the court, with each side refusing to confess to the other side's claims.
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In the lawsuit filed through Attorney Amos Van Emden, the complainant claimed that in July 2003, when he was 17 years old, he arrived at the Sea of Galilee's Ganim beach. The beach is preserved and fenced off, visitors must pay to enter it, and it is run by the Tiberias Municipality's economic company.
The two youths entered the water, but when they began hugging and kissing they heard the lifeguard calling them on the loudspeaker, urging them to get out of the water and approach him.
When the two came out of the water, they were met by the beach's manager and other people, who rudely told them off in front of the other bathers, declaring that the place was a public beach visited by families and children who should not be exposed to "such acts."
On March 2004, the young man filed a lawsuit against the municipality's economic company in demand of compensation, claiming that he had suffered sexual discrimination.
"Hugging and kissing in public are legal acts, which are performed in different occasions as part of the conduct of people who feel personally and emotionally close to each other," Attorney Van-Emden claimed.
"Prohibiting and restricting the plaintiff from enjoying the beach and its facilities were acts expressed due to his homosexual orientation. If the acts were performed by a boy and a girl, a man and a woman, no one would have commented or referred to them," he added.
Two years after the lawsuit was filed and without voicing or presenting any evidence on the matter, the sides reached a compromise outside the court. The municipality committed to paying the man NIS 5,000 in return for removing the lawsuit, stressing that the compensation does not constitute any admission of the claims.
'Hugging, kissing in presence of children is inappropriate'
Attorney Van-Emden expressed his great satisfaction over the compromise.
"The lawsuit was aimed at sending a message according to which homosexuals and lesbians will not suffer from discrimination, which is targeted at preventing them from realizing their orientation and identity in the same manner heterosexuals do," he said.
"The lawsuit and the compensation sum were aimed at stressing the principle that any public or commercial service provider must know that it is exposed to a lawsuit and financial sanctions, anytime it wishes to discriminate against homosexuals and lesbians," the lawyer added.
The Tiberias Municipality said in response: "The Tiberias Municipality's position is not to discriminate among populations. However, the beach manager believes that hugging and kissing – of any kind – in the presence of children, is inappropriate."
Hagai Einav contributed to the report
