Chen Arieli ( Hebrew: חן אריאלי) is a social activist, feminist, and politician who has been active in the

LGBTQIA+ rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishment for homosexualit ...

and

Women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

movement in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Chen Arieli was born on July 9, 1976 and raised in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

to Dan and Leah, a sister to Orly Zarfati and Ran Arieli. Arieli currently serves as the Deputy Mayor of the

Tel Aviv-Yafo Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

and serves as Co-Chair of

The Aguda – Israel's LGBT Task Force ) , logo = , type = Non-profit NGO , founded_date = 1975, Tel Aviv, Israel , area_served = Israel , focus = LGBT rights in Israel , homepage = The Aguda – Israel's LGBT Task Force ( he, האגודה למען הלהט" ...

. Arieli is the first open

Lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

to hold the Deputy Mayor position.

Activism

LGBTQ rights

Prior to becoming Deputy Mayor, Arieli was Chair of

. Arieli helped produced

TLVFest TLVFest or the Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival ( he, הפסטיבל הבינלאומי לקולנוע גאה) is an annual film festival held in Tel Aviv, Israel. The festival is focused on LGBT themed film from around the world. The f ...

, an annual

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

held in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, focusing on

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

themed film from around the world. Arieli also helped produce

Lethal Lesbian Lethal Lesbian () is Israel's only lesbian film festival. The festival has been held annually since 2008, and screens independent short, documentary and feature films from Israel and abroad. The festival Lethal Lesbian was co-founded by LGBT ac ...

, Israel's only

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

. In 2013, Arieli was a partner in the “Gay Literature” project which added a dedicated shelf of

literature to libraries in the

Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality ( he, עיריית תל אביב-יפו) is the arm of local government responsible for the administration of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv-Yafo. Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality handles such municipal affairs as education, cu ...

. Arieli served as Chair of

for two terms between 2015-2019. Arieli served as Joint Chair of the Task Force from 2015-2016 together with Omri Calman. In June 2016, Arieli and Calman threatened to cancel the annual

Tel Aviv Pride Tel Aviv Pride (Hebrew: מצעד הגאווה בתל אביב, Arabic: فخر تل أبيب) is a week-long series of events in Tel Aviv which takes place on the second week of June, as part of the international observance of Gay Pride Month. T ...

Parade over inequity in fiscal support for LGBT causes from the Israeli Government. As a result, the Israeli Government increased the budget for LGBTQ community organizations to a record 10 million NIS. In July 2017, Arieli led a protest against discrimination of same-sex couples in the adoption process opposite the Tel Aviv Government Complex with thousands of participants. In July 2018, Arieli led street protests against Israel's anti-gay surrogacy laws, among other issues. The protests ended with a rally in

Rabin Square Rabin is a Hebrew surname. It originates from the Hebrew word ''rav'' meaning Rabbi, or from the name of the specific Rabbi Abin. The most well known bearer of the name was Yitzhak Rabin, prime minister of Israel and Nobel Peace prize Laureate. ...

with the participation of over 100,000 people. In October 2018, Arieli initiated the "Pride Platform," a project training members of the LGBT community to run in local elections and encouraging Israeli political parties to increase LGBT representation.

Women's rights

She is also one of the founders of the Committee for the Advancement of Women in the Community at the Gay Urban Center. Arieli is a member of the Public Council of the Itach-Maaki

Women Lawyers for Social Justice Women Lawyers for Social Justice (in Hebrew language, Hebrew: איתך – משפטניות למען צדק חברתי; in Arabic: إتاخ معكِ – حقوقيات من أجل العدالة الإجتماعية; known as "Itach Ma'aki") is a ...

and a member of the Executive Committee of Matzmichim - The Israeli Violence Reduction Organization. She represents the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality on the Board of Directors of the

Tel Aviv Museum of Art Tel Aviv Museum of Art ( he, מוזיאון תל אביב לאמנות ''Muzeon Tel Aviv Leomanut'') is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. The museum is dedicated to the preservation and display of modern and contemporary art from Israel and aroun ...

and of “Ahuzat Hahof," a municipal company owned by the Tel Aviv-Jaffa the municipality, which has been operating parking lots throughout Tel Aviv-Jaffa.

Political work

Arieli is the first openly gay Deputy Mayor of

, responsible for the

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

portfolio. The role addresses LGBTQ issues, including challenges faced by

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

people and other issues raised by the 2018 protest. During the 19th Knesset (2013-2015), Arieli served as a Spokesperson and Political Advisor to

Merav Michaeli Merav Michaeli ( he, מֵרַב מִיכָאֵלִי, translit=Mērav Mīxāʾēlī; born 24 November 1966) is an Israeli politician, journalist, TV anchor, radio broadcaster, feminist, and activist. She is currently the leader of the Israeli La ...

of the Labor Party, in the liberal democratic wing.

Personal life

Arieli is in a relationship with Halit Levy, a documentary filmmaker. The two live in

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arieli, Chen 1976 births Living people LGBT politicians from Israel 21st-century Israeli women politicians LGBT rights activists from Israel Deputy Mayors of Tel Aviv-Yafo Lesbian politicians 21st-century LGBT people City councillors of Tel Aviv-Yafo