[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: We are, indeed, a curious society. With all the
talk one from the outside might think that Mrs. Clinton's concerns that we
are teetering towards religious extremism were a genuine reflection of daily
life in the Jewish State. We are a lot less PC than Americans in our talk.
But we really don't care what people do in their own homes. We really don't
care if a senior IDF officer lives with his male partner or that a senior
policewoman was raising her children with her female partner. Why? Maybe
because we face some very real existential problems.

But here's the question: Is Tel Aviv being the Best Gay City of 2011
something to crow about in publicity for general distribution? It certainly
fits into the model that we should focus on presenting Israel as a place for
gays and beautiful girls in bikinis instead of devoting our energies in
trying to convince foreigners to support our positions on Arab-Israeli
affairs.

On the other hand, while we certainly are happy to make money from gay
tourists, our bread and butter is tourists coming for the experience of
visiting the Holy Land.

Does trumpeting Tel Aviv for gays have any impact on the flow of pilgrims?

I don't claim to have an answer.

It would be interesting to hear from potential Christian pilgrims.]

Mayor Huldai Welcomes Tel Aviv's Selection as "Best City of 2011" on "Best
of Gay Cities 2011" Poll, Sponsored by American Airlines
(Communicated by the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality Spokesman)

Tel Aviv-Jaffa Mayor Ron Huldai welcomes the selection of Tel Aviv as the
"Best City of 2011" in the "Best of Gay Cities 2011" poll, sponsored by
American Airlines http://www.gaycities.com/best-of-2011/leaderboard , and
said that the city's gay community constitutes an inseparable part of the
city's social and cultural fabric. "Winning this competition constitutes an
additional strengthening of the fact that Tel Aviv-Jaffa is a city that
respects all people and allows everyone to live according to his/her own
principles. Ours is a city in which everyone can be proud of who they are,"
the Mayor said.

The Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality invests considerable resources in the gay
community, including the Gay Center< http://gaycenter.org.il/ > (which
receives approximately NIS 500,000 per annum, since 2008), Gay Pride Week
and support for various non-profit associations.

In the past two years, the municipality has worked with the Tel Aviv-Jaffa
Tourism Association< http://www.visit-tlv.com/ > and the Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual and Transgender Association<
http://www.gayisrael.org.il/contentItems.php?sectionID=673&parentID=0 > to
promote gay tourism in the city. Tel Aviv-Jaffa City Council Member Yaniv
Waizman noted that, "Last year, approximately 5,000 tourists from the gay
community visited Tel Aviv during Gay Pride Week alone. This year, we
estimate that this number will double."

Mayor Huldai and gay community activists will today (Wednesday), 11.1.12, at
15:30, depart from City Hall in an open-air bus to ride around the city.
The event is open to coverage.

For further details, please contact Eytan
Schwartz, at Mayor Huldai's office,
at 054-7949417.