The gay-related news out of Israel of late has been dominated by their fundie wingnuts rioting in the street over gay pride events held this month in Jerusalem. Fortunately, that isn't the only news of gay interest to come out of the strife-torn country. Just this week, the Israeli paper Haaretz did a very in depth interview with Israeli pop star Ivri Lider. If that name is unfamiliar to you, Lider, a huge star in his home country, came out publicly five years ago and has nonetheless remained a wildly popular even among his girl groupie fans.

In the interview, Lider talks about breaking up with his long term partner, how and why he stayed in the closet for so long (he knew he was gay from a young age, but only came out at twenty-seven after having his first same-sex experience three years earlier), and why he came out publicly despite the risks. On that matter, he says:

I also did it for my own mental health, to be a free person, and also for my audience. I have a social commitment. It's the commitment of an artist. I think it's a right I have and I'm glad I acted on it. A lot of famous people have this right and don't use it. For me, the desire to be a better and braver person exceeded the concern about whether it would make me lose fans. If I hadn't done it, I'd have disappointed myself.

Hmmm, for some reason I find myself thinking about a Lebanese born pop star who now resides in the U.K.

Lider has just put out his first U.S. single titled "Jesse", about a teenage boy in love with another boy. Kudos to Lider for not only not playing coy, but for putting out a song like this. Lider also has a song in Eytan Fox's new movie The Bubble (which we reviewed just last week). It's a version of George Gershwin's "The Man I Love" and both are worth a couple of minutes of your time.