The recent international Gay Pride celebrations have not skipped over the manliest of manly bastions in Israel, the Israel Defense Forces. On Monday, the IDF Spokesperson's Office posted an illustrative photograph on its Facebook page of two male soldiers, ostensibly from combat units, holding hands under the headline: "It's Pride Month. Did you know that the IDF treats all of its soldiers equally-" Years have passed since the fictional characters, soldiers "Yossi" and "Jagger," hit the Israeli silver screens in trailblazing fashion and, for the first time (albeit in a movie), depicted the army's pride. The IDF Spokesperson's Office, meanwhile, says the IDF has embraced the gay and lesbian community and treats it with respect. As opposed to the "don't ask, don't tell" mantra that was prevalent in the United States military for years, the IDF has told everyone. Purposefully or not, the surprising photo and headline were published only on the IDF's international Facebook page. By Wednesday afternoon, the photo had received 6,432 likes, 4,514 shares and more than 1,008 comments. Many comments from abroad were positive in nature and commended the IDF for its openness, while a few comments were less than flattering. In Hebrew, most of the comments were positive, but there were also comments such as "This is a disgrace to the IDF."
