Tel Aviv’s Last LGBTQ Bar, Evita, Closes Its Doors For Good

Tel Aviv’s Last LGBTQ Bar, Evita, Closes Its Doors For Good

evita tel aviv bar

Last week flier, via Evita.

In case you were wondering, the case of the disappearing LGBTQ bars and nightclubs in an era of increased acceptance and the rise of dating apps is a phenomenon that stretches well beyond the United States.

Related: Paradise Lost: How Gay Meccas Are Slowly Disappearing Because Of Rising Rents

Tel Aviv, Israel‘s most diverse and accepting city, has just lost its last remaining LGBTQ bar, Evita, which closed its doors for the final time Saturday after a 12 year run.

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According to the newspaper Haaretz, it served as an anchor for the gay community and was particularly popular among tourists. While other bars in the city cater to a mixed clientele and are LGBTQ-friendly, Evita was alone as a specifically LGBTQ venue.

“We had a wild time here, 12 years,” said Shay Rokach, one of the three founders. “This place has raised generations of people from the community. For many people Evita is the first place they went to, the first kiss, the first love and the place that accepted them without being judgmental. Lots of parents came here visiting their sons and daughters after they came out of the closet. Several mothers of partygoers came here this evening when they heard that Evita is closing, and came to celebrate with us.”

Related: Queer Celebs Share Their First Gay Bar Experience

“Dear Evita, tears are streaming from my eyes as I write,” someone wrote in the guest book placed in the center of the bar. “Evitoosh is family. A second home. A place where I grew up. Twelve unforgettable years.”

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The owners are keeping mostly quiet about the circumstances around the closure of the bar.

“We would have continued for another 30 years, but in this particular place it doesn’t work out,” Rokach said, adding that their lease had come to an end and there are plans to open another place in the future.

Related: Pride Takes Over Tel Aviv And Its A Feast For The Eyes

“The apps may have replaced other things. People do like to go out and drink, and there will be something new. We will survive,” said actor Tal Kalai, also known as the drag queen Talula Bonet, who regularly performed at Evita.

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PHOTO: NBA Star Draymond Green Accidentally Makes Private Pic Very Public

PHOTO: NBA Star Draymond Green Accidentally Makes Private Pic Very Public

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Whoops, poor Draymond Green. He’s done what so many of us have, and so many of us are moments from accidentally doing: he meant to send a private snapchat to someone, but accidentally made it public.

And alas, the photo was of his nether regions. He quickly deleted it, suggested he’d been hacked, and then confessed that it was supposed to be private. “We’re all one click away from placing something in the wrong place. I suffered from that this morning,” he said.

It’s true.

The photo itself looks more or less as you would expect. If you yourself would like to see it, by all means — have a look. We won’t stop you.

But we will say this:

Genearlly, seeking out the private photos of people who did not mean to be publicly exposed is equivalent to being a creep in a locker room and checking someone out while they change.

But hey, if the photo is publicly shared, the cat is out of the bag.

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HB 2, Shannen Doherty, MH 370, American Horror Story, Smiling Volcano, River Viiperi: HOT LINKS

HB 2, Shannen Doherty, MH 370, American Horror Story, Smiling Volcano, River Viiperi: HOT LINKS

CABLE NEWS. Fareed Zakaria calls Donald Trump a “bulls**t” artist, Trump responds with petulant tirade on (you guessed it) Twitter: “It’s entertaining if the guy is trying to sell you a condo or a car, but for a president of the United States, it’s deeply worrying.”

I was on CNN this afternoon discussing comments by Donald Trump on #Russia and #Ukraine: t.co/QYdoiO4kzo

— Fareed Zakaria (@FareedZakaria) August 1, 2016

NORTH CAROLINA. Federal judge hears arguments in lawsuit challenging state’s anti-LGBT ‘bathroom bill’ HB 2, expresses skepticism: “US District Court Judge Thomas D. Schroeder also seemed flummoxed at one point by how the law could function in practical terms — it requires people to use single-sex restrooms associated with the sex on their birth certificate, thereby making transgender people enter facilities that conflict with their identity and appearance.”

PANTS ON FIRE. Donald Trump says he doesn’t have a relationship with Vladimir Putin…even though he previously said he does.

WET. River Viiperi invites you into the shower with him.

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MH 370. Aviation experts suggest that the missing plane was flown into the water: “Larry Vance told Australian news programme 60 Minutes that erosion along the trailing edge of recovered wing parts indicated a controlled landing.”

MANSPLAINING. There is now ‘lingerie for men.’

MISS TEEN USA. Tweets sent by pageant winner using the N-word won’t cost her the crown. 

HAWAII. ‘Smiling volcano’ goes viral: “A smiley face was spotted in the Kilauea volcano’s crater during an eruption.”

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY. FBI employee pleads guilty to acting as an agent for the Chinese government: “Kun Shan Chun, aka “Joey Chun,” was charged with four counts of providing false statements about his contact with foreign nationals. In a complaint, the FBI alleged that Chun traveled to Europe and met with those foreign nationals without telling the agency, as he is required to do.”

SHANNEN DOHERTY. Actress reveals that her breast cancer has spread to her lymph nodes: “So for that reason, we are doing chemo, and then after chemo, I’ll do radiation.”

SPOILER ALERT. American Horror Story season 6 may address one of the greatest mysteries in American history. 

MALE MODEL MONDAY. Denis Jovanovic. 

CASTING. Channing Tatum will star in a remake of Splash that inverts the gender roles of the original film, with Tatum playing a Merman and Jillian Bell playing a version of the role previously played by Tom Hanks.

MISTER MONDAY. Gabriel Lima.

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Instagram Photo

Instagram Photo

The post HB 2, Shannen Doherty, MH 370, American Horror Story, Smiling Volcano, River Viiperi: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.



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