By Sophie Penelope Hill

Israel is a place that holds a special place in my heart. I went for the first time during my gap year with my parents and I was truly blown away. It had been a destination that I had wanted to explore for many years because of the vast cultural landscape and incredibly dynamic and controversial history. Being non-religious myself, I went in with an open mind ready to simply learn. My parents and I enjoyed the delicious food, incredibly generous people, and monumental sites. After that trip ended, I couldn’t wait to go back.

And, as I have learned in my short years here on Earth, if you manifest something hard enough, it will come true! Last summer, I was presented with an opportunity to return to Tel Aviv. My friend Rana and I had gone on what we jokingly called our “honeymoon” for a few weeks in June. We went to pretty much every romantic destination in Europe but were then going to top it all off by visiting our friend Daniel in Tel Aviv for the Pride Parade. Rana and I touched down in Tel Aviv, ready to hit the scene hard. We went to an amazing restaurant called “Old Man and the Sea” where they serve you literally 30 small dishes upon arrival. One of the waiters tried to ask us out on date but he didn’t speak English very well and had to get the help of another waiter. It ended up being a very roundabout, awkward process, but still did not take away from the DELICIOUS food. We later met up with Daniel at our AirBnB in the Levinsky Market, a very quirky, quizzical part of the city. Little shops were filled with different trinkets, dependent on the street. For example, one street only sells pool toys? Random.

All of us got really pumped up for the parade, which was the next day. I had really no idea what I was walking into, as this was the first time I had ever participated in anything like this. I should also mention, that I do not identify as queer, but my friends do and I felt like it would be a really special moment to be there with them to celebrate. In the morning, we all spent a good portion trying to get our outfits together, which of course took five hours. I settled on a chainmail tank top… super practical and breathable for the HOT SUN and sweat to come. We arrived at the entrance of the parade, which was popping. Different rainbow flags flying around, bubbles in the air, little food carts selling beer and cute snacks… The energy was truly so infectious. People were smiling and hugging, celebrating from rooftops and balconies. Some people even got hoses and were spraying the crowd as we walked past. Music was blasting from every apartment building in the city. Everyone was dancing and singing and just truly having an amazing time. The crowd weaved through the streets until we reached the beach, where the parade floats were passing by throwing samples and beads into the crowd. Collectively, everyone headed to the beach where we all jumped into the water. It was, not to sound too corny, pure joy.

I took away a lot from this experience. It was just amazing to be around a lot of people celebrating who they were and/or what they stood for, and it’s something I think about often. I thought it was amazing how many people had come to celebrate Pride and show up in this space to be seen, especially in such a conservative part of the world. I was incredibly happy to be there to support my friends and really enjoyed participating in this experience with everyone there.

Photo Credit: Sophie Penelope Hill

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