Madrid gay pride march bans Israelis over Gaza flotilla raids

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights in Israel are considered the most developed in the Middle East. In November 2005, a groundbreaking court decision in Israel ruled that a lesbian spouse could officially adopt a child born to her current partner, by artificial insemination from an anonymous sperm donor; this ruling was despite protests by the Orthodox Jewish parliamentary parties (which are a minority). Common law marriage has already been similarly achieved (which grants most of the official marriage rights to the spouse), but full official same-sex marriage has not yet been sanctioned. However, same-sex marriages performed elsewhere are recognized.

Israel also has one of the highest percentages of support for same-sex marriage in the world, with 61% of Israelis supporting civil marriage for same-sex couples.

Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Cyprus are the only countries in the Middle East where homosexuality between consenting adults in private is not illegal and homosexuals are not persecuted under law. In most other Middle Eastern countries homosexuality is illegal, often punishable by flogging and even hanging. Israel was the first country in Asia where homosexuals were protected by anti-discrimination laws, and remains the only country in the Middle East to provide such legal protection.

Out Magazine has named Tel Aviv "the gay capital of the Middle East."