In comparison to the rest of the region, and many other parts of the world, Israel’s LGBTQ community members are protected by law. Same-sex sexual activity was de facto legalized in the early 1960s and later codified in the 1980s. Discrimination based on sexual orientation has been illegal since 1992, and in 1997, sexual orientation was included under hate crime statutes. Since 1993, the Israeli Defense Forces have allowed Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Israelis to serve openly and as equals to their heterosexual counterparts, and currently Israel is one of few countries that allows Transgender individuals to serve. But despite these great strides, LGBTQ Israelis continue to face obstacles that prevent them from receiving fully equal treatment by both the government and Israeli society and its citizens. For example, while same-sex couples have been recognized by the state since 1994 and same-sex marriages performed abroad have been recognized by the state since 2006, same-sex marriages are still not performed in Israel itself. As the only religious movement in Israel advocating for LGBTQ rights and equality, IRAC works to eliminate these remaining obstacles.