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Gila Goldstein

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Gila Goldstein
גילה גולדשטיין
Born(1947-12-18)18 December 1947
Turin, Italy
Died5 February 2017(2017-02-05) (aged 69)
Tel Aviv, Israel
NationalityIsraeli
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • activist
  • sex worker

Gila Goldstein (Hebrew: גילה גולדשטיין‎; 18 December 1947 – 5 February 2017) was an Israeli sex worker, actress, singer and transgender rights activist.[1] She was one of the first activists of the Aguda, the oldest and largest LGBT organization in Israel. She is considered Israel's second openly transgender woman[2] (after Rina Natan) and is one of the most prominent icons of the LGBTQIA+ movement in Israel.[3]

Biography

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Gila Goldstein was born in Turin and assigned male at birth. After immigrating to Israel, she lived in Haifa. Goldstein realized she was transgender in 1960 and changed her name to Gila.[clarification needed (from what?)] She engaged in survival sex in Haifa before having gender affirming surgery in Belgium in 1965 – the first officially documented gender affirming surgery for an Israeli. In the early 1970s, Goldstein lived in Europe and worked as a dancer and striptease performer. When she returned to Israel, she performed in nightclubs and bars, including Bar 51. She served as the prototype of one of the characters in the film Bar 51 directed by Amos Guttman.[citation needed]

Goldstein recorded several songs and performed them at Allenby 58 in the 1990s. In 1998, together with Nino Orsiano she had a music program on the local radio.[citation needed]

She was awarded the Israeli LGBT community prize in 2003 and Miami LGBT Film Festival Award for the best supporting actress for her role in Good Boys in 2005. In 2010, a documentary film was made about her life.[4][5] An organization that provides assistance to transgender people was named after her in 2011.[citation needed] In 2015, in recognition of her service to the community, she had the honor to go at the head of the Tel Aviv pride parade.[6]

Death

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Grave of Gila Goldstein

Gila Goldstein died of a stroke on 5 February 2017.[7] Her death was announced, in some places, as the death of a "male" named "Ilan Ronen", which was the name on Goldstein's ID card. Friends said Goldstein invented the name for bureaucratic reasons. In response, Goldstein's great-nephew said that no government record could change the fact that Goldstein was always a woman, and the family promised that her grave would display the name "Gila Goldstein".[8] The funeral was attended by actors, politicians, and representatives of the LGBT community.

Filmography

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  • 2003 "Kulan" Hebrew.
  • 2005 "Good boys". Grace, mother of Manny.
  • 2008 "Fucking Different Tel Aviv"
  • 2010 "That's Gila, That's Me". Documentary.[9]
  • 2010 "Hasamba, the third generation". TV Series

References

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  1. ^ Gila Goldstein’s filmography (in Hebrew)
  2. ^ Maltz, Judy (February 19, 2018). "An Israeli City Just Hosted Mideast's First-ever Queer History Festival (And It's Not Tel Aviv)". Haaretz. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  3. ^ Porter, Darwin; Prince, Danforth (2006). Blood Moon's Guide to Gay and Lesbian Film. New York City. p. 175. ISBN 9780974811840. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ "Gila Goldstein: real story". walla.co.il. 2010-06-23. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  5. ^ "Gila Goldstein at The Tel Aviv Cinematheque". tlvfest.com. 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  6. ^ Yoav Zehavi (2015-06-03). "Gila Goldstein, the first Israeli transgender". TimeOut Israel. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  7. ^ Yaniv Weizmann (2017-02-06). "Farewell to the warrior". ynet.co.il. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  8. ^ "Gila Goldstein family: we didn't ask to bury her under another name". wdg.co.il. 2017-02-07. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
  9. ^ "That's Gila, That's Me". awiderbridge.org. 2010-10-04. Archived from the original on 2017-02-18. Retrieved 2017-02-07.
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