Dori Spivak, a Harvard graduate and former chairman of Israel's Association for Civil Rights became Israel's first openly gay judge appointed to Tel Aviv's Labour court.
Over the years Spivak has earned a reputation for bringing awareness to various high profile gay cases, and has acted as a strong voice for the gay community internationally. He may be best known for a case he took on in 1997 in which the Supreme Court forced a state channel to broadcast a program about gay teenagers.
Earlier this year, Israel became the first country to feature a same-sex dance couple on the Israeli version of Dancing with the Stars. Aside from being a leading voice in the equality movement, Israel is the only country in the Middle East in which gay citizens have rights.
