"Ever since my parents stopped talking to me, Bat-Kol is my only family"
(Adi 29 Jerusalem)
Bat-Kol organization was founded about 15 years ago, back in 2005. Today it's a home for over 500 omen of various queer and religious identities. Today, it's the only NGO of LGBTQ women in Israel. Bat-Kol's uniqueness is that it always works on two parallel yet separate paths. The first, a more discrete and protective course of action, providing a safe environment for women who have yet come out of the closet, in various stages of the process. The second, a public path, standing in the frontline of changing public awareness and promoting tolerance for the LGBTQ community, and more specifically, the religious LGBTQ community.
In the private part of its' activities, Bat-Kol holds group meetings in many different locations, various events and workshops for creating a warm and found community for women who are in need for social support. These private group meetings provide the opportunity for women to share their experiences, difficulties, successes and more, combining women of various ages, and various stages of their queer identity. Furthermore, Bat-Kol holds many social events, some based on location, on theme, or Jewish holidays, to strengthen the power of the community and the connections between the members of the organization, providing an alternative for those who were excluded from their families or communities for being queer.
In its' public activities, Bat-Kol faces tides of hatred aimed against the LGBTQ community. In many cases, DE legitimization of a Jewish queer way of life. An indication for that can be seen in this coming election with a party running solely on an anti-gay campaign (Noam) that delegitimizes gay families, which have fundraised a generous budget dedicated solely to call for the right to be normal, stating that it's best to stay in the closet rather than to be openly gay. Bat Kol faces these hatred trends along with other LGBTQ organizations, providing a unique perspective of women who are both gay and religious to various extent. Bat-Kol promoted a rally dedicated to the memorial of trans women who are no longer with us, who were secluded all their lives from their families and communities, for being transgender of a religious background.
Bat Kol also participates and promotes feministic agenda in various boards in the Israeli parliament and strive to increase cooperation with various women's organizations.
In light of recent public trends of violence and anti-tolerance for the other, for the different, and more specifically, against the LGBTQ community, we at Bat Kol feel a sense of urgency to increase and improve our efforts and services to better aid our target audience. We plan to expand our services and provide more professional support in very much needed territories such as legal aid, financial consultancy, self-defense workshops, professional support and more. For this we have started founding an allies group to help provide the backbone for this activity.
We look at a new horizon, one in which men and women are equal, where people of different faith or queer identity are not discriminated or hated. We know it's a difficult task, but we are not discouraged, we believe in the power of creating a small change one by one.
Contact as:
Tehilla Bassa, CEO
+972 506-449-419