The "Doodle" in honor of Gila Goldstein z"l (Photo: screenshot)
A tribute to Pride Month: Google today (Sunday) dedicates Google "Doodle" to the late Gila Goldstein, marking 20 years since she received the LGBT darling award for her pioneering status as the first transgender woman in Israel and for her struggle for equality for the community despite the rejection, persecution and many hardships she has experienced.
Goldstein's doodle, which will replace the logo of the search engine in Israel throughout the day, is a photograph of a sculpture created by artist Jenny Kirstein from Jerusalem, which presents Goldstein's image against the background of Tel Aviv's iconic Bauhaus buildings, decorated with Israeli flags and pride. The street cats Gila rescued and the dogs she raised throughout her life make up the Google logo as a tribute to her great affection for animals. Other motifs on Google are taken from the world of the stage that Goldstein loved very much: a microphone, a stage lantern and a clipper, since over the years Gila recorded songs, acted in films and performed as a cabaret dancer in Israel and Europe.
Goldstein is the first transgender Israeli woman to receive a doodle. Other transgender women honored include Marsha P. Johnson, one of the leaders of the Stonewall riots in New York that sparked the LGBT liberation movement in the United States; Brazilian lawyer and LGBT rights activist Jenina Dutra and Danish painter Lily Elba, who inspired the film "The Danish Girl."
Gila Goldstein z"l, one of the pioneers of transgenderism in Israel (Photo: Aviv Hofy)
Barak Regev, CEO of Google in Israel: "This year, more than ever, Google is excited to stand with the LGBT community in Israel and celebrate the legacy of the late Gila Goldstein on our homepage with Google Doodle in her memory. Goldstein was a courageous activist, rights fighter and leader who led the visibility and acceptance of the Israeli LGBT community and today, five and a half years after her passing, we say thank you to her."
Linor Abergel, CEO of Transwomen Israel and a close friend of Goldstein's: "Gila Goldstein was the spiritual mother of many trans women in Israel. It is not self-evident that Google would put a spotlight on a transgender woman who was marginalized for refusing to live by society's dictates. The transgender community and LGBT society in Israel as a whole has made great progress thanks to the stone laid by Gila, among the foundations of LGBT history makers."
Omer Elad, CEO of the Gila Project for Transgender Empowerment: "The values that Gila Goldstein and the transgender community represent – equality and social solidarity – are currently under unprecedented attack in Israel and around the world, which makes Google's gesture to Gila and the community especially important. It is a fundamental right to live in safety and dignity as people on the trans spectrum and we will continue to fight for gender freedom for all of us."
More about Gila Goldstein
Goldstein was born on December 18, 1947 in Turin, Italy. At a young age, she and her family immigrated to Haifa. In the 60s, Goldstein became the first Israeli to officially undergo a gender adjustment process. In the 70s, Goldstein helped found the Society, Israel's first LGBT rights organization. Alongside her work as a prostitute, she also performed as a dancer and singer in bars in Tel Aviv such as Allenby 58. During the 90s, she recorded a number of original songs and hosted a weekly radio show.
In 2003, Goldstein won the Community Darling Award. In 2005, she won the supporting actress award at the Miami LGBT Film Festival. In 2010, Alon Weinstock's documentary "It's Found Out Is Me" was published. Goldstein's image and contribution inspired the founding of the Gila Transgender Empowerment Project in 2011.
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