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An exuberant crowd of more than 2,000 followed, waving rainbow flags and cheering when the hit song ``Diva'' by the transsexual Israeli singer Dana International boomed from loudspeakers.

The gay community in Israel is taking centre stage, demanding attention and equal rights.

``We've reached critical mass. People are coming out of the closet at a much quicker rate than before,'' said 25-year-old Jared Goldfarb, who attended the June 26 parade carrying a sign reading ``Gay, religious and proud.''

Goldfarb said he was grateful the parade was in the afternoon so he could make it home in time for the Jewish sabbath, which begins at sundown on Fridays.

Even in Jerusalem, home of Israel's largest concentration of ultra-Orthodox Jews, the gay community is speaking up.

This year, student organisers threw the holy city's second annual gay pride party.

But it was held indoors and drew about 200 people.

``I can't have anything in a park, or anywhere outdoors. People live in the closet here,'' complained party organiser Sa'ar Nathaniel. Hebrew University's gay and lesbian student association, which he chairs, received threatening messages on its answering machine prior to the event.

A few hours before the party, Jerusalem's deputy mayor Haim Miller said on television that homosexuals were ``loathsome'' and that ``everything must be done so they won't be seen in our homes or around our yards.''

But watching from the sidelines of the Tel Aviv parade, Amit Schneider, a heterosexual who fears the power of Israel's religious right, said: ``I don't want to live in a country that puts limits on how people choose to live their lives.''

Life after Dana
For Israel's gay community, Dana International's victory in May's Eurovision song contest -- an annual event best known for rocketing the Swedish group Abba to international stardom -- was a turning point.

``It is different for us after Dana,'' said drag queen Mina De La Chorba, repairing a false eyelash before performing at the Jerusalem pride party.

``When Israelis celebrated Dana's victory in the streets of Tel Aviv, people started to recognise that there is a big gay community,'' echoed Nathaniel.

Less than a month after Eurovision, the gay community was in the spotlight again when it clashed with police at Wigstock, an outdoor show in Tel Aviv featuring musical groups and drag artists.

Participants blocked a main street for two hours after police, who wore latex gloves for fear of AIDS, tried to close the show an hour before organisers thought their permit was due to expire.

Nathaniel calls the standoff Israel's ``Stonewall,'' a reference to a 1969 riot in New York's Greenwich Village in which patrons of Stonewall, a gay bar, clashed with police trying to shut it down. The incident was a turning point for gay rights in the United States.

``The biggest struggle is the struggle for visibility. Now any candidate who wants to be elected mayor will not be able to ignore the gay and lesbian community,'' said Nathaniel.

Israel laws take liberal line on homosexuality
Israeli laws on homosexuality seem progressive compared to the United States, where only nine states have banned discrimination based on sexual orientation and some still consider sodomy illegal, Israeli gay activists say.

Israel prohibited workplace discrimination in 1992, after decriminalising homosexuality in 1988. In 1993, the army adopted a policy of allowing openly homosexual soldiers to serve in any capacity.

Though there is no civil marriage in Israel, even for heterosexual couples, both the Supreme Court and the military have recognised same-sex domestic partners as eligible for spousal benefits.

Dan Yakir, a lawyer for the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, believes legal successes for homosexuals and growing media attention have meant increasing opposition from Orthodox Jews, whose political parties are key players in the coalition government.

``The religious voice didn't play a significant role so long as the gay and lesbian community wasn't so visible,'' said Yakir.

Following Dana International's win, Deputy Health Minister Rabbi Shlomo Benizri of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party called transsexuality a ``sickness.''

Member of Parliament Yael Dayan, the daughter of the late war hero Moshe Dayan, has championed gay and lesbian causes, including a failed 1995 attempt to legislate equal status for homosexual couples.

``I see it as all a part of human rights,'' she told Reuters.

Although he appreciates Dayan's work, De La Chorba believes his community would benefit even more from an openly homosexual member of parliament.

``We don't really have someone to represent us. Dayan has done a lot, but she's straight. I believe someone who is gay would be much more sensitive to the things that we need,'' he said.

A tale of two cities
Tel Aviv may soon have a gay politician. Michal Eden, running in the left-wing Meretz party's primary for municipal elections, will be Israel's first openly homosexual elected official if she wins a council seat.

But many homosexuals still don't feel comfortable living in Jerusalem.

``It's much easier for me in Tel Aviv, both as a gay person and a secular person,'' said Nathaniel, who plans to move there as soon as he graduates.

Dana, a lesbian graduate student at Hebrew University, also plans to move to Tel Aviv when she finishes her studies.

``There is no active community life here -- only support groups and help lines,'' she said of Jerusalem.

Tel Aviv already has a handful of gay bars and restaurants. Minerva, the city's first establishment catering mainly to lesbians, opened recently.

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