In a follow-up to Does Michael Lucas Have A Job?, we’d like to pass along a note the porn mogul penned to blogger Andy Towle. Lucas takes issue with Towle’s coverage of two MK’s legislative push against gay pride. Russian-born Lucas chides Towle for his apparently inflammatory conclusion. Writes Lucas, “You chose at the end of this post to point out more negative points about Israel, like demonstrations of a few hundred Hassidic Jews against Pride in Jerusalem, and the alleged bomber.” While those news stories are negative, they’re also handy references for Towle’s readers. Anyway, we’ve included the entire email after the jump. Note that he begins by saying he knows Towle doesn’t hate Jews. He doesn’t give everyone that benefit. Queer.
Dear Andy,
I’m writing in response to your January 29th post (http://www.towleroad.com/2008/01/israeli-mk-gay.html) about homophobic remarks made by Israeli Knesset Member Nissim Ze’ev (whoever he is).
Obviously, I know you personally, consider you a friend, and know for a fact that you aren’t an anti-Semite.
Yet I have noticed that you follow a tendency among gay and other “liberal” bloggers to report a lot more bad than good news out of Israel.
The general undercurrent of violent, irrational hatred of Jewish people is such that if you only report strongly negative things about Israel to your readers, you will inevitably be fanning the flames of that bigotry.
One ignorant, religious Knesset member does not remotely damage Israel’s very good record on gay rights. I won’t even mention that when Palestinian gays are outed, and face the real danger of being stoned to death by their fellow Palestinians, they escape to Israel, not to neighboring Egypt or Jordan for refuge.
I don’t know if you’ve been to Israel; I go every year. My last trip was during the war started by Hezbollah and I’ll be returning this February 20. I entertained Israelis in gay clubs in Tel Aviv and Haifa. Let me note here, that I was doing live gay sex shows–which is not allowed anywhere in the United States–and it was reported that I was doing so in every mainstream Israeli newspaper. I personally think that Israel is much more advanced in gay rights than the much longer-established democracy that is America.
Unlike the U.S., Israel’s military doesn’t have “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” Unlike New York, Tel Aviv recognizes gay couples as family units. Couples married in Massachusetts are legally recognized everywhere in Israel, but not in, for example, Pennsylvania. Israel grants partners of foreigners residency status. Same sex partners may adopt each other’s children. Israeli insurance companies provide pension and death benefits to same sex couples. The Israeli Attorney General guarantees legal recognition to same sex couples in business and personal financial matters. Gay couples started being registered in Jerusalem last year.
All of that is possible, and even more progress is coming, because Israel is governed by secular laws and a judiciary, not by Torah, and not by the hateful Koran, as is the case in so many Muslim countries.
Look, yes, you reported a true fact. But then you chose at the end of this post to point out more negative points about Israel, like demonstrations of a few hundred Hassidic Jews against Pride in Jerusalem, and the alleged bomber. Maybe it would be more productive to list the good things that Israel is doing for gay people, to say what rapid progress Israel has made on gay rights, and under what difficult circumstances that progress has been achieved. Maybe that will give a more balanced picture.
Israel has achieved and maintained the tolerant society it has in spite of all manner of threat to security in daily life there. I can only imagine the tolerance of the French, Italians or even Americans if any of these countries were to have terrorist attacks, often running stretches at a time on a daily basis, and if their citizens were being slaughtered on public busses, restaurants, clubs, shopping malls and outdoor food markets. That is to say nothing of if France, Italy and/or America had rockets and missiles falling on its peoples’ heads in a supposed time of peace! Just how far could good Western tolerance be stretched? So, when talking about Israel, it is very important to acknowledge the Israelis’ patience and their incredible democratic achievements under the most difficult circumstances, gay rights included.
Remember too that when you are talking about Jerusalem, you are talking about one of the most complicated places in the world. It’s a center for three major religions. Even among the Israeli gay community, there’s a debate over whether it’s a good idea to march in the center of such a religiously concentrated place, when gay Tel Aviv is a forty minute drive away, and where gay parades attract hundreds of thousands of people every year. I’m talking about Tel Aviv with its flourishing gay culture. Gay clubs, restaurants, centers, meeting points, bookshops, gay beaches, et cetera, et cetera amen. Because all that exists, I don’t feel it’s very fair to portray Israel as homophobic because of the controversy over the gay parade in Jerusalem. The majority of Israelis respect gay rights.
Andy, most people do not have your depth of knowledge or your analytical abilities. Just check your readers’ comments. When you post mainly negative stories about Israel, such posts feed anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli sentiments that are, unfortunately, increasing in the gay communities of the U.S. and Europe. I think you should be very careful about what to report and how you report it. Don’t overestimate your readership, and don’t underestimate the historical anti-Semitism that can be set off with the tiniest spark to a fuse.
Ignorant people exist within every country’s government. In open and modern counties, their ugly and stupid comments backfire against them. There is no more chance that Nissim Ze’ev is going to become Prime Minister of Israel than there is that Senator George “Macaca” Allen will return to being Senator of Virginia.
It’s important for you to give some thought to who your readers are. Maybe you can do that by simply reading the comments they make on your posts. Please understand, I’m not comparing you to anti-Semitic sites like Queerty, where if you put the terms “Jew” or “Jewish” in the site’s search, you’ll come up with just hate and more hate towards this young and courageous country.
Best regards,
Michael Lucas
Tom
congratulations, michael lucas! the 101st post about you on Queerty in two years!
Jack Jett
I am getting really sick of Michael Lucas. If he is so concerned about Israel, why doesn’t he pack his big dick and move back there. Who the fuck does he think he is and why the fuck does he think we care.
His mouth is bigger than his dick and that is SOOOO unattractive.
Jesus fucking Christ!
justin
Congratulations to Michael Lucas for this serious, well argued letter! Let’s see how the little coterie of Lucas-haters which seem to congregate on this website will pick this apart!
John
“Please understand, I’m not comparing you to anti-Semitic sites like Queerty, where if you put the terms “Jew†or “Jewish†in the site’s search, you’ll come up with just hate and more hate towards this young and courageous country.”
Christ. What a drama queen?? Since when are you guys anti-…err…
RJ
Once again it seems Mr. Lucas has way too much time on his hands or an extreme need for more blog-attention. Total Douche.
Jack Jett
John
That is what pisses me off. To call an entire blog anit-Semitic is bigoted and short sighted in and of itself. It is offensive. Like being called a racist.
It is time for Mr. Lucas to take some self inventory and a big fat reality check…….
Meeg
this idiot needs to get back to peddling his smutty wears and stop trying to speak on behalf on the Jewish people.
Meeg
Also, try holding hands with another guy and walking down the street in B’nei brak.
Oh and I like how his shows get reported in every mainstream Isreali newspaper. Superstar!
dons888
Michael “Goolander” Lucas hates judgemental people and admonishes blogs who do so. Yet he judges blog readers and calls them “lacking in depth of knowledge and analytical abilities”. Whatever!
Meeg
Also, I love Israel, but this makes it sound like gays can get married in Israel… they can’t. Jews in Israel can only get married by members of the Orthodox state rabbinate. You can imagine their position on gay marriage.
Jack Jett
I think Michael Lucas owes this blog and everyone associated with it an apology. His offensive remarks are bigoted and out of line.
At the very least, he should come up with these so called anti-Semitic postings that have been made here before making such a brash statement.
He has this Texan in a tizzy.
Anti-Semitic……….give me a fucking break.
Charley
I agree with Michael Lucas. Israel is a democracy. There are many different representatives in the Knesset, and Prime Minister Ohlert has an out lesbian daughter. I am proud to be called a Jewish Gay Rights Leader, (see link below) even though I am an uncircumcized WASP with English roots to the Massachusettes Bay Colony
At 73, I may go this year to the Temple Mount and pull down my pants, mooning the sacred spot where Mohammed was said to have descended in to heaven. (sound familiar)? The Abrahamic religions are all the same and very dangeous. Long live Israel. Jewish men are very attractive and full of life force. Lucas is no exception. I burned the Quran and cut up the bible because left unchecked, we queers will be eliminated by religious extremists. I do it for the young, because I only have a few more years to live and don’t give a shit about what people think.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-1903.html
mozzer13
Oh Christ on a cracker, just because he wasn’t arrested for sucking dick on stage doesn’t mean Jerusalem is the new Castro District. You know, I don’t dislike Lucas because he is Jewish any more than I dislike him for selling himself (god knows I’ve purchased enough porn to not care about that, and being a ho doesn’t make you any less worthy to speak your opinion). I dislike him because a) he’s a racist, and b) he’s a self-important drama queen. Take a pill, sister sledge!
Perry Brass
I think that bashing Michael Lucas has become a sport and hobby for some people, namely because porn stars are not supposed to think, or for that matter talk . But I like that he is so adamant about his feelings for Israel, which many American left-of-centrists now find fashionable to squash. The unfortunate truth is that Israel has been our only democratic ally in the Middle East for so long that we keep forgetting the fact. As a state it makes a lot of mistakes, but considering how many mistakes this country makes, Israel is still lin the small potatoes field.
And Lucas is very right about gay rights in Israel, which strangely enough are behind its social mores; just the opposite here where the whole country is still in the clutches of the religious fundies. A recent NY Times poll revealed that 87% of the American people believe in the Virgin Birth, and a staggering 78% do not believe in evolution. I have a feeling that these statistics would make most Israelies laugh.
Jack Jett
Perry
You do realize that by posting on this board, Mr. Michael Lucas thinks you are anit-Sementic?
Michael Lucas,contrary to what you say, has MADE bashing a hobby and a sport. When people respond to his crap, that is not bashing. That is standing up for yourself like any man would do.
While I have sympathy for Israel, I also have it for the Palestines, the Iraqi and the folks of Iran. THAT doesn’t make me anti-Sementic.
No one gives a rats ass that he does porn. But to take a holier than thou attitude when the folks your are bashing are those who purchase your materials, is ………fucked up.
stephan bertoli
michael is right.im an israeli,i was out in the army,i was out in my job.i was never afraid to be who i am.unlike ARAB COUNTRIES,were they kill you for being gay,(death by stones),in israel you can be openly gay.
FUCK THOSE ARABS.
Charley
Jack Jett,
Get you with the platex living gloves in yellow.
Attract attention if you must, but do it in the Michael Moore mode, for a cause. You are not a cause and neither is Perez Hilton. Who the fuck would employ you ???
Tweety
The Quran is no more “hateful” than the bible or torah. It’s the people who use and abuse all three of these story books who are so damaging to all living things.
Jack Jett
Charley…
Bash me anyway you want sweetheart, but Michael Lucas can not refer to everyone on this blog as
anti-sementic.
Who would or wouldn’t employ me is not germain to this conversation.
Saying Fuck The Arabs is bigoted unless you mean spit fucking, and that is Jack’s line(tm) I am King of The Spitfuckers.
maclvr
For the record, I’ll give you some first hand information…Michael Lucas makes an excellent point in this, because it’s rare to read reports on here or other gay oriented blogs the positive aspects of Israel existing as a nation, as a people and their support for the gays…
Of course, my information is this: Israel happens to take IN the gay refugees from surrounding countries. Did anyone here know that? That the gay muslims who would be put to death, the muslims that cause Israel so many problems, are taken in by Israeli’s so that they are not put to death in whichever country they come from.
What does that say for Israel? A lot.
But considering what Michael said, I wholeheartedly agree with him. The gay blogs essentially paint these very distorted images of Israel and their policies, when in reality it IS a true democracy amidst a surrounding of dictatorship-like governments. They make Israel sound so third world because one member of Knesset or some Rabbi’s think gays are bad. These people are the equivalent of the Westboro Baptist Church over here, and unfortunately they are the ones who get the press.
How about a little diversity over here? Why not will yourselves to learn the positive aspects of Israel and make a post about it? Don’t be afraid to learn something new. You might all hate Mr. Lucas for what he says or does, but he makes a very valid point. Especially when it comes to the gays who are writing off a group of people – we should all be so lucky that everyone in the world accepts us the way the Israeli’s do.
Bill Perdue
The only thing we need to remember about the zionist state is what Archbishop Desmond Tutu said when he accused Israel of practicing apartheid in its policies towards the Palestinians. Tutu, a Nobel peace laureate o knows apartheid when he sees it. He stands alone among major christian leaders because of his adamant opposition to antigay bigotry.
In a BBC interview Tutu said he was “very deeply distressed” by a visit to Palestine, saying “it reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa”. In a speech in the United States Archbishop Tutu said he saw “the humiliation of the Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks, suffering like us when young white police officers prevented us from moving about”.
The archbishop, who helped crush South African apartheid, said Israel would “never get true security and safety through oppressing another people”. Archbishop Tutu said his criticism of the Israeli Government did not mean he was anti-Semitic. “I am not even anti-white, despite the madness of that group,” he said.
The archbishop attacked the political power of Jewish groups in the United States, saying: “People are scared in this country, to say wrong is wrong because the Jewish lobby is powerful – very powerful. Well, so what? The apartheid government was very powerful, but today it no longer exists. Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Pinochet, Milosevic, and Idi Amin were all powerful, but in the end they bit the dust,” he said.
mike
move back to israel if it’s so great
mozzer13
In regards to the call for discussing the positive aspects of Israel, I was going to point out that it is hard to be positive about a country that practices apartheid, but Bill just said it ten times better than I could.
Oscar L
i am sorry to see so many fucking jews commenting on this site.. all
this Michael Lucas(sorry Andrey Treyvas BREGMAN!!!) people with crooked
noses that can think about nothing else but money and fucking
Israel.”(why the fuck are you still here? money?!)
We all know that america is run by jews. This is the only reason why
Lucas is getting all the press! All the ugly covers! all the sick
attention, all the interviews to spread his shit propaganda! Which is
making me wont to throw up! His friends are all jews too!!!! His office
workers same! the designers like Jacobs who dresses him as well!
All the media is jewish! That’s why Zulender is getting all the free
press! (he is rumored to be 40! years old!!! and spend hundreds of
thousands on sergeants))
Queerty, please rise above this! Stop writing about this zionist
monster that treat people like slaves.(ask his actors). Because of you
he is laughing all the way to the bank!
We should kick his jewish ass and send him to israeli desert! Boycott
to jew films!!!!!!!!!!!! They are not hot anyway : all this awards he
is getting are simply because all the dirty judges are a bunch of an
old sleazy kykes!
mozzer13
Someone tell Britney to move over one bed in the wacko ward…we’ve got another patient on the way.
JoePolitics
I wonder why he thinks that we spend that much time thinking about Israel or that negative articles out of Israel is a reflection on the Jews. I personally don’t spend a lot of time thinking one way or the other about whether or not someone is Jewish. And when I read an article about Israel don’t draw conclusions about Jewish people in general. This guy seems like he has some core issues to work through.
John
@ Mozzer13
heh, yeah!? WTF??
Bill Perdue
Oscal L should know that sometimes there’s a price to pay for being stupidly bigoted and anti-Semetic. It can range for an extended stay in a psychiatric care facility to the price paid by the accused at the Nuremburg Trials. Anti-Semites are scum who waste the oxygen needed by real humans.
Javy
How is it that it’s acceptable for him to be openly anti muslim and it’s wrong for anybody else to express even the slightest criticism against Israel?I mean at least other bigots like David Duke do not attempt to play the victim. What about Russia, your home country?I can’t think of a more anti gay ‘democratic’ country than that, yet I’m smart enough to avoid generalizations and not assume anyone from Russia is a homophobic.
Bill Samuels
Not saying this blog is anti-Semitic, but look at comment # 24 by bigoted Oscar L. and it’s apparent that occasional anti-Semitic comments are posted everywhere — even gay blogs.
Frankly, this comment should be removed. That’s not censorship. It’s one thing to be questioning and politcally incorrect, but the slurs Oscar L. uses clearly brand him as out and out prejudiced, offering nothing of value to this discussion, only hatred.