Welcome to Times Will Tell, the weekly podcast from The Times of Israel. This week, at the tail end of Pride month, we're speaking with a leader of IGY — the Israel Gay Youth organization -- Rom Ohayon, who heads up all post-high school programs.

Today, IGY is funded in part by the Israeli Ministries of Education, Health and Social Welfare, in addition to private donations. There are some 400 IGY volunteers who offer support and advocacy for over 4,000 gay youth a year throughout Israel. IGY works in conjunction with the IDF, the National Service programs, and is launching a new pre-military academy named after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg this fall.

But it was not always on the Israeli scene and was only created in 2002 by Yaniv Weizman and Gal Ohovsky, specifically for youth aged 12-23. Its ongoing evolution and spread to all kinds of Israel’s diverse communities means the group is gradually filling a massive void for gay youth and helping them stay integrated within Israeli society.

By 2010, IGY started its post-high school Year of Service group. Some participants continue to the IDF’s Nahal Brigade, which was founded by David Ben-Gurion in 1948 and traditionally combines military service with serving in small communities.

Since 2018, several graduates of the service and army programs have settled in Afula and become IGY leaders. This is where we find 29-year-old Rom Ohayon today.

IMAGE: IGY participants (courtesy)

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