Reut Naggar (born May 2, 1983) is an Israeli producer, cultural entrepreneur and social activist, mainly 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 ...

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, ...

. Naggar is the founder and co-owner of WDG, an LGBT

news site An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical. Going online created more opportunities for newspa ...

, and the producer of the theater production "Lesbihonest". Member of the Tel Aviv Jaffa City Council.

Early life

Naggar was born 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 ...

and grew up in

Ashdod Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...

. She served her

compulsory military service Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

in the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

between the years of 2001–2004 in the Logistics Unit as an

Operations Officer Military operations is a concept and application of military science that involves planning the operations for the projected maneuvering forces' provisions, services, training, and administrative functions—to allow them to commence, insert, t ...

. Following her army service, Naggar went on to obtain a BSC in

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and Internal Medicine from

Bar Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic i ...

. She studied

capital Markets A capital market is a financial market in which long-term debt (over a year) or equity-backed securities are bought and sold, in contrast to a money market where short-term debt is bought and sold. Capital markets channel the wealth of savers to ...

at Psagot College and Creative Writing at "Aboodi" College, an advertising school. Following her studies, Naggar worked at several advertising companies, including

Saatchi & Saatchi Saatchi & Saatchi is a British multinational communications and advertising agency network with 114 offices in 76 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in 1970 and is currently headquartered in London. The parent company of the agency gr ...

Career

In 2014, Naggar co-founded the

Lesbian bar A lesbian bar (sometimes called a "women's bar") is a drinking establishment that caters exclusively or predominantly to lesbian women. While often conflated, the lesbian bar has a history distinct from that of the gay bar. Significance Lesb ...

Amazona, where she produced

cultural events. In 2015, she produced the international LGBT film festival,

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 ...

" and was the producer of the "Yemei Tarboot" project, by

Mifal HaPayis Mifal HaPais ( he, מפעל הפיס) is the national lottery of Israel. Most gambling is illegal in Israel. The only bodies licensed to provide betting services are Mifal HaPais and The Israeli Sports Betting Council. In 2012, Mifal HaPais's annua ...

. Naggar also worked at several Israeli

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s as a content manager, event producer and alumni network coordinator. Naggar, along with George Avni, created the website WDG.co.il – Israel's only independent LGBT news website. The site was created to provide a political voice to the LGBT community in Israel and bring news from Israel and the world to the community in its own language. The website reflects the diversity of reality, breaks down stereotypes and includes calls to action, personal articles, and updates about events and activities for the community. In 2016, Naggar produced the show "Lesbihonest" with actress and poet, Mika Ben Shaul. The show includes

comedy sketches Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term origin ...

, songs and poems about women who love women. The show was first staged at the LGBT center in Tel Aviv, followed by a nationwide tour including performances in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

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 ...

Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...

and more. "Lesbihonest" now shows regularly at Israel's national theatre,

HaBima The Habima Theatre ( he, תיאטרון הבימה ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv. History ...

. That same year, Naggar was selected as one of the LGBT community most influential women by " Time Out Tel Aviv". In 2017 Naggar founded the band "Pashoot" in honor of the tenth anniversary of Lethal Lesbian Film Festival, and performed at the festival's venue,

Tel Aviv Cinematheque Tel Aviv Cinematheque (also called: Doron Cinema center) is a cinematheque and movie archive, opened in Tel Aviv on 12 May 1973. The Cinematheque, located at HaArba'a Street 5, has five screening halls. The Cinematheque programming includes Is ...

. She currently resides in Tel Aviv.

Public and Political Activity

Naggar is an activist for

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

in Israel. She was one of the heads for the

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

"Women at the Front", the theme for the 2016 Pride events in Tel Aviv, to promote women in leadership positions in the community. She was also one of the leaders of the 2018

SlutWalk SlutWalk is a transnational movement calling for an end to rape culture, including victim blaming and slut shaming of sexual assault victims. Participants protest against explaining or excusing rape by referring to any aspect of a woman's appe ...

. Naggar produced the "Golden LGBT" event for elderly LGBT community and the LGBT

Passover Seder The Passover Seder (; he, סדר פסח , 'Passover order/arrangement'; yi, סדר ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew c ...

on behalf of Israel's LGBT Task Force and the

Tel Aviv Municipal LGBT Community Center The Tel Aviv Municipal LGBT Center (Hebrew: המרכז העירוני לקהילה הגאה, ''HaMerkaz HaIroni LaKehila HaGe'a'') is a municipal establishment, housing various social and cultural community services provided by the City of Tel Avi ...

. Naggar also contributes articles to "mako" news site, on LGBT relationships and

pluralism Pluralism denotes a diversity of views or stands rather than a single approach or method. Pluralism or pluralist may refer to: Politics and law * Pluralism (political philosophy), the acknowledgement of a diversity of political systems * Plur ...

. In February 2018, she announced that she would run in the elections for the Tel Aviv city council on the Meretz party ticket. In the party elections, held in May 2018, Naggar was achieved seventh place in the Meretz list, but eventually gained the fifth slot following changes. However, In the municipal elections in October 2018, the Meretz won only three seats on the city council. In July 2018 she was one of the founders of the "Pink female Panthers" group, which initiated the Israeli LGBT's strike. In November 2019 she was elected as a member in the Board of Directors of The Aguda – Israel's LGBT Task Force.

References

External links

*
An interview with Reut Naggar for Dutch television
As part of the NTR Channel's Discover the Middle East project * Moran Nakar
Fig leaf? Israelis fear first gay minister only there to protect Netanyahu
- Amir Ohana's appointment was historic, but some members of Israel's LGBTQ+ question whether he will fight for their embattled community, in

Middle East Eye Middle East Eye (MEE) is a London-based news website covering events in the Middle East and North Africa. MEE describes itself as an "independently funded online news organization that was founded in April 2014." MEE seeks to be the primary porta ...

, July 2, 2019
Bass, Bier und Kippa
in jungle world, September 12, 2019 (German) * Linda Dayan
Protest Takes Center Stage as Coronavirus Transforms LGBTQ Pride Events in Israel
in

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

, July 7, 2020
Female Future - A podcast about female icons, trendsetters and pioneers, episode 2: LGBTQ+
an interview with Reut Naggar about the 50th anniversary of female suffrage in Switzerland in 2021, in the context of an intercultural dialogue between the Embassies of Switzerland in Israel and in the UK * Nathan Klabin
Rally Instead of Parade: LGBTQ Community Forges Togetherness, Remembering Soldiers, Hostages
in The Media Line, May 31, 2024 {{DEFAULTSORT:Naggar, Reut 1983 births Living people Jewish Israeli politicians Israeli LGBT rights activists Israeli lesbian politicians Meretz politicians Israeli feminists Jewish women activists People from Ashdod People from Tel Aviv Jewish feminists Israeli women's rights activists Lesbian Jews