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A 30-year-old bachelor, not in our community: A religious moshav member claims that he was rejected by the admissions committee due to suspicion that he is homosexual
Aviel Kestenbaum was born in Moshav Keshet in the Golan Heights, has lived there all his life and even serves as one of his ambulance drivers. However, when he asked to buy a house, he was rejected by the moshav and the regional admissions committee, claiming that he was homosexual. "You will find a partner, G-d, so you will go through the process again," he was told. He has launched an appeal process that provides a glimpse into what is happening behind closed doors by the admissions committees. Keshet and the Golan Regional Council deny it. Guardian Tracking
Nearly two years ago, Shomrim published a series of articleson the subject of admissions committees for localities – from kibbutzim and moshavim to settlements and communal settlements. As part of the series, the stories of those who were rejected by various discriminatory communities were presented – one of them, for example, was rejected by a number of religious communities, claiming thathe was divorced; A couple of Russian origin testified that they were subjected to a racist "joke" and also experienced the filtering mechanism of settlements in Israel (last December, after a long struggle, the couple's appeal to the Israel Lands Authority was accepted and accepted).
Recently, Shomrim received the story of Aviel Kestenbaum, a resident of the religious moshav Keshet in the Golan Heights, who claims that the moshav committee and the regional admissions committee of the Golan Regional Council acted to prevent him from purchasing a house in the community, due to the suspicion that he was gay. Kestenbaum raised the allegations in a legal proceeding against the moshav and the council, which in turn deny them.
Kestenbaum, 30, who has a history of combat service in the Armored Corps, is a native of Moshav Keshet and has lived there almost all his life. He is a single man who works as a maintenance manager in a factory in the moshav, and lives in his mother's house in the moshav. He is also one of the ambulance drivers of the community.
At one point, Kestenbaum wanted to buy a house in a moshav owned by his sister. Prior to the discussion at the regional admissions committee, he was interviewed by the moshav's absorption committee. This is despite the fact that the committee members have known Kestenbaum for many years.
A reading of the transcript of the meeting shows that the members of the absorption committee were disturbed by Kestenbaum's being single. However, during the meeting, there was also an apparent hint about his sexual orientation.
This is how the passage in question sounds:
Netanel (committee member): Single women are fine, but it happens and we do an interview with you. We have to say that G-d will soon build a house in our days, find a spouse or I don't know what, and build a house and everything and decide that you are coming to live in Keshet.
(Another speaker laughs)
Uzi (another member of the committee): What is this possibility? Should he find a partner?
Netanel: A spouse but not in Keshet, so we've already taken it down, so it won't happen with the spouse.
Uzi: Find a partner.
Netanel: You'll find a partner, G-d, so you go through the process all over again.
The two members of the session who expressed themselves in this way later claimed that the remarks were made in jest, and that there was no homophobic intention or hint of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. One way or another, the moshav committee recommended to the regional admissions committee not to approve Kestenbaum, which indeed rejected his request.
In response, Kestenbaum submitted an objection to the Appeals Committee of the Israel Land Authority (ILA), which has the authority to reverse the decision. A week ago, the Appellate Committee held a hearing, and it is expected to make a decision in the coming month.
In his objection, Kestenbaum claimed that the admissions committee acted in bad faith and out of extraneous considerations, when it accepted the moshav's recommendation not to accept it on the grounds of homophobia. This is contrary to what is statedin the Admissions Committee Law: "The admissions committee will not refuse to accept a candidate on the grounds of race, religion, sex, nationality, disability, personal status, age, parenthood, sexual orientation, country of origin, outlook or party-political affiliation."
Kestenbaum clarifies in his objection that "he is not homosexual, but the concern of the association's committee in the moshav where a person with a different sexual orientation will live in Keshet, even if he is a member of the community and even if he is an observant person, led to the formulation of a policy that prevents a recommendation to allocate a plot or a house to a single person, since a single person poses a risk because it is impossible to know his sexual orientation."
The community prefers to absorb families rather than singles"
The Admissions Committee, in its response to the Appellate Committee, rejected this argument and said that Kestenbaum's non-admission was not due to the slightest bit of discrimination, and that Kestenbaum's allegations were baseless. The Moshav also rejected the arguments and claimed that the claim of discrimination is simply not true, and its claim regarding the issue of singleness is also incorrect. However, the moshav did not deny the preference for families.
"There are many substantial reasons why the community prefers to absorb families rather than single people," the moshav wrote to the appeals committee. "Some of these reasons relate to the intention to establish a center of life in the community – since a person who does not yet know his life path cannot commit to living in a remote and isolated community for a long time. In any event, the Absorption Committee's discretion was appropriate and at least reasonable, and the Yishuv's representatives on the Absorption Committee acted within the scope of their authority and duty."
The formal reason that the admissions committee rejected Kestenbaum's application is a lack of conformity with community life, which is why applicants are usually rejected by admissions committees. According to Kestenbaum, this determination is illegal because the law requires relying on the recommendation of a diagnostic institute to make such a determination. In his case, Kestenbaum was sent to a diagnostic institute where he received a grade of 4, the minimum grade considered "passing." On the other hand, the admissions committee argued in this context that the non-admission was due to an aptitude score that was below the average, without taking into account the fact that this score was also correct.
This matter was also recently discussed in the Nazareth District Court, where Kestenbaum, through Attorney David Peled, approached another proceeding relating to his membership in the moshav. The various arguments raised by the Appellate Committee were attached to the legal proceeding as appendices.
Now the parties are waiting for the decision of the ILA's appellate committee, and if the appellate committee rules against Kestenbaum, he still has the option of appealing to the court.
שומרים - רווק בן 30, לא אצלנו ביישוב: בן מושב דתי טוען שנדחה בשל חשד שהוא הומוסקסואל
אביאל קסטנבאום נולד במושב קשת ברמת הגולן ומתגורר בו כל חייו. אולם כאשר הוא ביקש לרכוש בית, הוא נדחה. "תמצא בת-זוג בע"ה, אז עוברים את התהליך מחדש", נאמר לו
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