De Haan’s life expresses the braid of politics, religion, and culture which has always found a ... Pink, white and blue.

De Haan’s life expresses the braid of politics, religion, and culture which has always found a tie in the issue of sexuality and, specifically, homosexuality. Today, the braid has further tightened and twisted with players from all of Israel’s religions coming from all parts of the world to engage in the battle that is now centered on the upcoming international Gay Pride Parade scheduled to take place in Jerusalem in August.

"The community here is much smaller than New York and London,” he explains. “But I think the people here are much less pretentious and they're also very friendly - they love travelers and tourists. They're much more outgoing whereas in New York they're more 'whatever'."

When asked if it Israel should make a concerted effort to bring Jews from all over the world, regardless of their moral aptitude, in order to obey the Biblical injunction to gather the world’s Jewry in the Holy Land, he responded by saying, “Absolutely not. Theoretically, if homosexuals had come here with a low key, with a low voice, I could see how they wouldn’t be hurting anybody."

But whatever the opinions might be, and however they may clash, participants in the conflict surrounding gay aliya and gay relations in Israel would be well served by the story of Jacob Israel de Haan which teaches us that when the parties in conflict cannot strike a balance, the risk is run of losing someone loved by everyone.

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