{"id":27187,"date":"2026-04-21T03:19:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T07:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/israel-to-host-biggest-ever-middle-east-lgbtq-event\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T03:19:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T07:19:46","slug":"israel-to-host-biggest-ever-middle-east-lgbtq-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stingfm.com\/news\/israel-to-host-biggest-ever-middle-east-lgbtq-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel to host \u2018biggest ever\u2019 Middle East LGBTQ event"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><strong>The organizers have promoted the four-day \u2018Pride Land\u2019 festival at the Dead Sea as the region\u2019s largest gathering of its kind<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Israel is promoting a new festival called \u2018Pride Land\u2019 as the <em>\u201cbiggest LGBTQ+ festival ever in the Middle East.\u201d<\/em> The event at the Dead Sea is billed as a four-day gathering of performances, parties, exhibitions, and queer culture.<\/p>\n<p>The official Israel account on X said on Monday that the festival would bring <em>\u201cfour days of nonstop celebration, community and connection.\u201d <\/em>The Jerusalem Post<em> <\/em>has described it as the largest festival of the kind in the region\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<p>According to the official website, \u2018Pride Land\u2019 is scheduled for July 1-4, 2026 in Ein Bokek on the Dead Sea and is being sold as a destination-style event rather than a single parade. Organizers are offering hotel-and-ticket packages, including all-access wristbands, and promoting a central events space called DOME X.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Pride rises at the lowest place on earth \ud83c\udf08 This June the Dead Sea becomes Pride Land, the biggest LGBTQ+ festival ever in the Middle East. Four days of nonstop celebration community and connection. <\/p>\n<p>Israel celebrates its LGBTQ+ community bigger than ever \ud83d\udc99 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JxqjQGNB7z\">pic.twitter.com\/JxqjQGNB7z<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Israel \u05d9\u05e9\u05e8\u05d0\u05dc (@Israel) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Israel\/status\/2046166997566976275?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 20, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The website says the program will include performances, parties, exhibitions, art, and queer culture \u2013 along with family-oriented activities and child-friendly areas alongside the broader entertainment lineup.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1700\" data-end=\"1911\">The event is being promoted against a mixed legal backdrop for LGBTQ rights in Israel. Same-sex marriage is not performed in Israel because marriage is handled through the religious authorities rather than civil law.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n        <span><strong>Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<figure>\n            <imgsrc=\"\" alt=\"US President Donald Trump.\"><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/636434-trump-claims-iran-leader-gay\/\">Trump claims Iran\u2019s new supreme leader is \u2018probably gay\u2019<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>However, Israel recognizes same-sex marriages performed abroad. The Foreign Ministry also says same-sex couples are recognized by Israeli courts in areas including adoption and family rights, making the country one of the more legally permissive jurisdictions for LGBTQ people in the region.<\/p>\n<p>The label \u2018biggest ever\u2019, however, appears to be a promotional claim rather than objective fact. Israel has long marketed Tel Aviv Pride as one of the region\u2019s biggest LGBTQ events. The annual event was canceled during the Gaza war in 2024, as well as in 2025 during the US-Israeli strikes against Iran.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The organizers have promoted the four-day \u2018Pride Land\u2019 festival at the Dead Sea as the region\u2019s largest gathering of its kind Israel is promoting a new festival called \u2018Pride Land\u2019 as the \u201cbiggest LGBTQ+ festival ever in the Middle East.\u201d The event at the Dead Sea is billed as a four-day gathering of performances, parties, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[483],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rt-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.8.1 - 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