QUOTE
Down and Out in Israel
A Gay Arab From the West Bank Finds He Can't Go Home Again
By Molly Moore
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 8, 2004; Page D01
....
But Musa's charm and easygoing nature won over most of Yitzhak's family and friends, Yitzhak said. The two melded easily into Yitzhak's professional life in Jerusalem, where Yitzhak trained Musa to work in his plumbing business. They participated in the vibrant, open gay community of Tel Aviv -- a city that is far more cosmopolitan and socially tolerant than most of Israel, and a refuge for Israeli and Palestinian gays.
\"Before the intifada, we would go to films and restaurants,\" Musa said. \"We'd go dancing in Tel Aviv, go sailing. It was a lot of fun.\"
....
Even though he has reconciled with some of his family members, he said he cannot return to the West Bank: \"Over there, I am nothing. I cannot be myself.\"
The threat of jail terrifies him even more: \"I won't survive there. People know I'm homosexual.\"
As a youngster, said Musa, \"I had many dreams: to have a good life, a safe place to live. To have pets and birds . . . to have a normal life, like normal people.\"
And then in a voice so soft and flat that it was barely audible: \"None of them came true.\"
A Gay Arab From the West Bank Finds He Can't Go Home Again
By Molly Moore
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 8, 2004; Page D01
....
But Musa's charm and easygoing nature won over most of Yitzhak's family and friends, Yitzhak said. The two melded easily into Yitzhak's professional life in Jerusalem, where Yitzhak trained Musa to work in his plumbing business. They participated in the vibrant, open gay community of Tel Aviv -- a city that is far more cosmopolitan and socially tolerant than most of Israel, and a refuge for Israeli and Palestinian gays.
\"Before the intifada, we would go to films and restaurants,\" Musa said. \"We'd go dancing in Tel Aviv, go sailing. It was a lot of fun.\"
....
Even though he has reconciled with some of his family members, he said he cannot return to the West Bank: \"Over there, I am nothing. I cannot be myself.\"
The threat of jail terrifies him even more: \"I won't survive there. People know I'm homosexual.\"
As a youngster, said Musa, \"I had many dreams: to have a good life, a safe place to live. To have pets and birds . . . to have a normal life, like normal people.\"
And then in a voice so soft and flat that it was barely audible: \"None of them came true.\"