PAT JOHNSON REPORTER
For Steven RodRozen, the hope of marrying and raising a family in Israel had been a dream. His parents had followed the Zionist ideal to a kibbutz, where RodRozen was raised. But when he came out as a homosexual and, later, when he married a man in a ceremony unrecognized by the government, life became untenable, he said. RodRozen and his partner, Derick RodRozen (they combined their two last names when they married), then came to Vancouver and applied for permanent residence to Canada as refugees, arguing that they were forced to flee Israel due to discrimination against homosexuals.
Israel is one of the few countries in the world that explicitly forbids discrimination against gays and lesbians in legislation, but the RodRozens say that has little practical application in everyday life.
"It's on paper," said Steven RodRozen. "There are laws against discrimination in the workplace but, in real life, there are ways around it." The couple said they were evicted from two Tel-Aviv apartments when it became known that they are gay and Derick RodRozen was fired from a job as a food and beverage manager in a hotel. Steven RodRozen also said he was attacked on the street. Though there may have been legal recourse for these discriminatory acts, the men chose not to press their case.
"We decided not to spend our energies that way, but to seek a better life," said Steven RodRozen. His spouse added that they were particularly susceptible to discrimination.
"Being activists and promoters in the gay community made us both high-profile and easy targets," said Derick RodRozen. "I was bashed in Tel-Aviv and it's not a rare situation," he said. "You get bashed, you get fired, you get evicted.... It's not the life we want to live."
Police security was on hand at their elaborate Tel-Aviv wedding, a ceremony the couple believes was the first of its kind ever to take place in the Jewish state. A deciding factor in the decision to come to Canada was the RodRozens' determination to adopt and raise a family.
"In Israel, that would be an impossible mission for us," said Steven RodRozen.
Though the couple is settling well into Canadian life, the road ahead will almost certainly present some curves. Their case was referred for consideration to the Immigration and Refugee Board, but that holds no guarantees. Dominique Forget, a spokesperson for the board in Ottawa, does not comment on individual cases, but said there are five criteria that board members consider.
"We're using the definition that is contained in the 1951 [United Nations Geneva] convention relating to refugees," said Forget. The categories are discrimination based on nationality, race, religion, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Because people can apply under as few as one or as many as five of these bases - and because the board can approve claimants on one or more - there are no statistics on the grounds for accepting refugees. Forget did note that discrimination based on sexual orientation has been used before to grant refugee status, though she could not say whether it had been used by an Israeli applicant. She said that it falls into the category of a particular social group.
Although Canada has good relations with Israel, that sort of diplomatic nicety does not play a part in the board's decision, she said.
"Basically we will determine any refugee claim according to the law," said Forget. "It has nothing to do with the country of origin."
The first step in the process is to have an immigration official forward the claim to the Immigration and Refugee Board. The RodRozens, along with the vast majority of claimants, are sent on to that quasi-judicial level. Once there, however, the chances are slim that they will be granted refugee status.
In each of the past three calendar years, only a fraction of Israeli claimants have been approved. In 1998, 24 Israeli applicants (two per cent of the total Israeli claimants) were granted refugee status. In 1999, 29 were accepted (seven per cent of the total). In 2000, 16 were accepted (five per cent of the total). Not all the others were rejected. A large number of applications are abandoned or withdrawn in the process and a significant number are deferred to the following calendar year.
Though the Canadian government does not keep statistics on its reasons for accepting refugees, it publishes summary reports of cases. Most recent applications from Israelis appear to be from those who originated in the former Soviet Union and who claim they are persecuted because of their national heritage or because they are part of a mixed-religion family.
The Immigration and Refugee Board has responded in some cases by saying that close to one million people from the former USSR have moved to Israel and they do not all experience discrimination. Moreover, they differentiate between systemic discrimination and individual incidents, such as the case of a Christian woman who had a cross physically ripped from the necklace around her neck. In that case, the board determined the assault did not reflect a credible case for refugee status.
The idea that people would apply for refugee status in Canada because of discrimination in Israel does not impress a senior Israeli diplomatic official.
Zehavit Ben Hillel, Israeli consul to Ontario and Western Canada, said she doesn't see any reason for an Israeli to seek refuge in Canada.
"I personally - and I probably say in the name of the government - I don't see any reason for any Israeli to claim refugee [status] in Canada, or any place else, because Israel is a democracy and very similar in values to Canada," she said.
No date has yet been set for the RodRozens' hearing.