Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., November 13, 2007 Kislev 3, 5768 | | Israel Time: 19:14 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Print Edition Diplomacy Defense Arts & Leisure Real Estate Jewish World National Advertising Magazine Week's End Business Opinion Rosner's Domain Anglo File Books Travel

A drag queen performing at the Sushan Pub in Jerusalem. (Tess Scheflan / Jini) del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 10:23 12/11/2007 From Haredim to leftists, regulars mourn end of J'lem's only gay bar By Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondent tags: Gay bar, Jerusalem, Israel  After four years in operation, the Shushan Pub, the only one for Jerusalem's gay and lesbian community, has closed down. "Shushan is the only place in Israel where the Haredi [ultra-Orthodox], Arabs, religious and secular could sit together and have a good time," says pub owner Saar Netanel, who also serves on the Jerusalem city council for the left-wing party Meretz. "When they left Shushan, each returned to his own ghetto." O Advertisement ne of the workers continues: "Haredim would come here mainly on Mondays and Fridays. There were not many of them, but it was clear that they were looking for a place for themselves and had not found it in the communities in which they live. Quite often you could find a Haredi here, all dressed in black, sitting at the bar, looking for companionship." The bar was not always allowed to operate unhindered. Two years ago, arsonists torched the pub, and every year, with the approach of the gay pride parade, extra police patrols guarded Shushan's clientele. On the other hand, Netanel admitted this week that despite the animosity directed at members of the gay and lesbian community regarding the parade, Shushan was generally tolerated by Jerusalem residents. But some patrons say Shushan had not managed to increase acceptance - let alone friendliness. "The fact that this place is on a side street, on the edge of the city center, prevented more serious incidents against the pub and its clientele," says one customer. Adam Rousseau, 21, who was stabbed by an ultra-Orthodox man during the 2005 gay parade, went to Shushan last weekend for a last goodbye. "I met my partner at Shushan," he says. "Shushan is a warm, safe and friendly haven. The Jerusalem [gay and lesbian] community was surrounded on all sides by hatred, venom and vitriol, and Shushan was the only place where the community could find comfort." Apart from its sense of political mission, Shushan became an incubator for the renewal of drag shows in Israel: Kiara Duple, Talula Bonet, Gallina Port Des Bra, Diva D and The Four Jerusalem Drag Queens held gevald evenings every Monday, providing an open stage for amateurs. Following their success in Jerusalem, the queens traveled to Tel Aviv, Ashkelon and Haifa, too. The decision to close the pub was made a few days ago. The Jerusalem local newspapers hinted that professional differences had developed between Netanel and his partner in managing the pub, Shimi Netaneli. Netanel, for his part, claims that the decision was made out of exhaustion. "At age 36, I am interested in other things. With all due respect to ideology, ideology does not pay the rent or municipal taxes," he says, adding that he is surprised there are no other places in Jerusalem for gays and lesbians. "On the other hand," he concludes, "in a city like this, which lacks tolerance, where a third are Haredi and another third are Arabs, it is very difficult to come out of the closet." Bookmark to del.icio.us Religious identity Palestinian negotiator Erekat: Palestinians won't accept Israel as a 'Jewish State' Freedom of expression The head of Google Israel refuses to censor anti-Jewish hate material on the internet.   1.   Big Deal!! 2 more lines just opened in Tel Aviv, 40 minute away 07:19  |  Nephtaly 12/11/07   2.   Misrepresentation 08:50  |  George 12/11/07   3.   Lots of Chareidim 09:34  |  Jak Black 12/11/07   4.   Jerusalem not suitable for gay club, Tel Aviv is THE place to be! 09:37  |  Benjamina 12/11/07   5.   Reply to # 3 you are really quite wrong 09:57  |  SJ 12/11/07   6.   i`m sad about shushan, but these groups do come together at bars! 10:36  |  Michelle 12/11/07   7.   I agree with Jak: Why make everything political? 10:43  |  AA 12/11/07   8.   George #2 10:43  |  Zeev 12/11/07   9.   Zeev #8 11:29  |  George 12/11/07   10.   Article Says "From Haredim to Leftists" 11:36  |  B`Galil 12/11/07   11.   Article Says "From Haredim to Leftists" 11:36  |  B`Galil 12/11/07   12.   #5 you missed the point 11:39  |  Jak Black 12/11/07   13.   Leave the Gays alone! 12:20  |  Shahin 12/11/07   14.   Chareei Gay Bar 12:35  |  Dov L. 12/11/07   15.   #4 Benjamina 13:33  |  Chris Linthwaite 12/11/07   16.   They are different from us 13:37  |  Chris Linthwaite 12/11/07   17.   I would like to see a serious stufy 13:53  |  Yonatan 12/11/07   18.   Haredim at Shushan 13:59  |  Ezra 12/11/07   19.   nature or nurture 15:32  |  zero phobia 12/11/07   20.   that the land vomit not you out also 16:02  |  Humble Jew 12/11/07   21.   Gay Chareidim 16:54  |  MR 12/11/07   22.   No. 20 Humble Jew 17:01  |  Steve 12/11/07   23.   Crossing the line 17:14  |  Ezra 12/11/07   24.   # 15 you misunderstood my comments. 17:37  |  Benjamina 12/11/07   25.   Steve - #22 17:40  |  MR 12/11/07   26.   # 20 humble jew 18:11  |  Axel 12/11/07   27.   What is a Harendim sexual beast to do? Tel Aviv? 18:51  |  Dominatrix 12/11/07   28.   Chris you`re certainly different 19:00  |  Joe Slovo 12/11/07   29.   To Axel and Steve 19:10  |  Humble Jew 12/11/07   30.   Wicked... 20:19  |  William Lear 12/11/07   31.   #27, Read, please 20:21  |  Rabbi Lewis Levine 12/11/07   32.   Axel against...Humble Jew 20:46  |  christoph 12/11/07   33.   This is something to celebrate, not "mourn" 21:01  |  Baruch 12/11/07   34.   To Baruch in Boston 21:11  |  Adam the Gay Jew 12/11/07   35.   from time immemorial 22:17  |  ben dover 12/11/07   36.   Anyone Who Went In There Was Not Really Religious 22:30  |  Efox 12/11/07   37.   To christoph 22:32  |  Humble Jew 12/11/07   38.   re: Ezra; This Article is one Big Bash on Haredim 22:35  |  Efox 12/11/07   39.   re: B`Galil 22:39  |  Efox 12/11/07   40.   ben dover 22:40  |  CHGODMK 12/11/07   41.   re: Steve 22:43  |  Efox 12/11/07   42.   re: zero phobia 22:47  |  Efox 12/11/07   43.   CHGODMK was that an attempt at humor? 23:09  |  ben dover 12/11/07   44.   There is a place for gays in Jerusalem! 23:22  |  John Muller 12/11/07   45.   #34, Adam, twisted my words 00:38  |  Baruch 13/11/07   46.   Ben Dover 00:54  |  CHGODMK 13/11/07   47.   Abominations of sexual sins 00:58  |  Concerned 13/11/07   48.   "Haredi"? Or wearing haredi attire? 02:45  |  Yaakov 13/11/07   49.   Canned story: "In Egypt, calls for peace bring waves of rebuke" 04:10  |  Genuine Tosefta 13/11/07   50.   responsible thought in Israel-nonexistent 08:25  |  Mark 13/11/07   51.   A sad day for Jerusalem 08:59  |  Slibovitz 13/11/07   52.   Religion, POISON for mankind!!! 19:09  |  Jacob 13/11/07

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