EDGE on the Net

Outspoken pro-Israeli (& anti-Islam) advocateMichael Lucas moves from porn into documentary filmmaking with ’Undressing Israel,’ about LGBT life in the Holy Land.

A court in Israel made a historic move this week by granting a divorce to a gay couple. Currently, the country has yet to legalize gay marriage but does recognize same-sex marriages performed overseas.

A committee for the Conservative Jewish movement recently approved two liturgies that may give more rights to same-sex couples marriages than in heterosexual marriages. And women aren’t taking it lying down.

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren stressed during a speech at Equality Forum’s annual dinner in Philadelphia on May 5 that his country remains at the forefront of the global struggle for LGBT rights.

Last week, Seattle’s LGBT commission canceled a reception with a delegation of gay Israeli leaders because it gave into a small group that expressed outrage about the way the country treats Palestinians.

Looking to promote its public image internationally, Israel’s ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs is asking members of the country’s gay community to speak about Israel around the world.

Underneath the crowded alleys and holy sites of old Jerusalem, hundreds of people are snaking at any given moment through tunnels, vaulted medieval chambers and Roman sewers in a rapidly expanding subterranean city invisible from the streets above.

A once unimaginable movement is emerging from within Israel’s insular Orthodox Jewish community: homosexuals demanding to be accepted and embraced, no matter what the Bible says.

Michael Lucas recently announced that he’ll be leading a second tour of Israel in May 2011, pairing with one of Israel’s top travel agencies for a 9- or 12-day tour.

Anderson, an honorary director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is in Israel to participate in the local version of "Dancing with the Stars." Her work for animals "has been really inspiring," she said.