Israel's military service has allowed gays and lesbians to serve openly since 1993. That doesn't mean, however, that the nation's defense force is necessarily gay friendly:
Forty percent of the gay and lesbian soldiers said they were verbally abused and 4 percent said they were physically abused, according to a new survey by the Israel Gay Youth organization.
Some 45 percent of respondents in the study said they heard homophobic remarks frequently or very frequently in their units, while 59 percent of soldiers in combat units said they heard homophobic remarks frequently.
Sixty-three percent of respondents said they had come out to their family, but only 32 percent had told fellow soldiers or their commander about their homosexuality.
One wonders whether the repeal of the States' Don't Ask, Don't Tell will help combat homophobia in our ranks. If we're anything like Israel the answer is clearly no.
