Another Reminder of How Free Israel is Compared to the Entire Arab World

Israel and the Jewish people have a lot in common with the people living in the surrounding areas.  We are both semitic, kosher rules are very similar to halal (though they are allowed to eat camels, which are unkosher) and homosexuality is forbidden according to both of our religious rules.  The biggest difference though is how much these rules are imposed upon the nonreligious population.  And we are seeing a great example of that today, the day of the Tel Aviv Gay Pride Parade, where even religious homosexuals take part in the festivities.  Honestly, would any of the nations neighboring Israel have a gay pride parade that looks like this?:

Here's a hint, the answer is no.  And this is not even the only gay pride parade in Israel, Jerusalem has one as well.  Conversely, other than a small gay pride parade in Lebanon a few years ago, which seemed to receive zero local press, there doesn't seem to be any gay pride parades in the entire Arab world, which has 350 million people.

Next time you see someone with a rainbow flag protesting Israeli actions, make sure you let them know how much they would be persecuted in the Arab world and how free they would be in Israel, the most liberal and progressive country, by far, in the middle east.