Tel Aviv

Last night, Anna and I watched the 2012 movie Tel Aviv, a love story between a Palestinian psychology student and an Israeli lawyer, set against the backdrop of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. When I visited with Ally in 2018, I was struck by the many gay venues and the generally LGBTQ-friendly atmosphere in Tel Aviv. Yet, the film’s portrayal of the dual realities of the conflict – and the intersecting tensions between national and sexual identities – felt remarkably bold. Its deeply humanistic message resonates all the more today, given how much darker the situation has become since.