Jerusalem's Only Gay Bar to Close

A drag queen performing at the Sushan Pub in Jerusalem. (Tess Scheflan / Jini)

After four years in operation, the Shushan Pub, the only one for Jerusalem's gay and lesbian community, has closed down.

From Haaretz

"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."

One 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."