For Nadav and Shuli, becoming parents has never been just a future plan-it has been a long journey shaped by personal experiences, resilience, and the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to build a family.
The couple has been together for four years. Their relationship is built on shared values of family, compassion, and supporting those around them. Shuli is a social worker and psychotherapist, while Nadav works as a producer and project manager. Both describe themselves as people who naturally gravitate toward helping others, whether friends, relatives, or people facing personal challenges.
Nadav and Shuli
Their personal experiences have also influenced the way they see family and belonging. When Shuli was 20 years old, his father passed away—a traumatic loss that deeply shaped his life and reinforced the importance of meaningful family connections. Alongside his clinical work, Shuli is the author of Najma, a book that explores the intersection of Iraqi identity and gay identity through the perspective of a therapist, addressing questions of identity, belonging, family, and self-acceptance.
Nadav's work also focuses on social issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community. In December 2023, his short documentary How Pleasure Feels was screened at the TLVFest International LGBTQ+ Film Festival at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. The film examines how homophobia and social stigma can shape the lives, identities, and behaviors of LGBTQ+ people.
Like many LGBTQ+ people, Nadav and Shuli grew up wondering whether they would ever have families of their own. At a time when same-sex parenthood was rarely visible, becoming fathers often felt like a distant dream rather than a realistic future. Although Israeli society has changed significantly over the years, they believe that prejudice and homophobia continue to exist, making the path to parenthood more complex than it should be.
Their first step toward parenthood was through a co-parenting arrangement. They invested significant time, emotional energy, and hope into building a shared parenting partnership. Despite everyone's best intentions, the process ultimately did not succeed.
After taking time to reassess their options, the couple decided to pursue surrogacy. Following extensive research into different countries and legal frameworks, they chose Mexico as the place where they hope to begin building their family. If everything goes according to plan, they expect to officially start the surrogacy process in September or October this year.
For Nadav and Shuli, beginning the surrogacy process in Mexico is far more than a logistical milestone. It represents the moment when years of hope, planning, and perseverance finally begin to take shape.
For same-sex couples, international surrogacy is often the only realistic path to biological parenthood. However, it comes with significant financial challenges. Medical treatments, legal procedures, agency fees, travel, accommodation, and ongoing support create costs that are difficult for many young couples to meet on their own.
To help finance the process, Nadav and Shuli launched a crowdfunding campaign, inviting friends, family, and anyone who believes that every family deserves a chance to grow to become part of their journey.
For them, this campaign is about more than raising funds. It is about making parenthood possible after years of uncertainty and believing that a supportive community can help turn a long-held dream into reality.