On June 22, 2016, Israel’s first transgender officer to openly transition in active service visited San Francisco to share his story with the Bay Area community. Lieutenant Shachar, 22, joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as a woman and throughout his military service has gone through the process of changing his gender reflecting last year that “as an officer-in-training I understood that I wanted to have an honest and trustworthy relationship with my which meant I had to tell them who I really am.”
With near universal military service, the IDF formalized open service for the LGBTQ community in 1993. Great strides continue to equalize all service members experiences under the guidance of Israel’s chief gender advisor Brigadier-General Rachel Tevet-Wiesel, one of the highest-ranking women in the IDF. For transgender officers gender reassignment surgery is considered an essential medical service that is covered by the IDF, soldiers are addressed according to their gender identification, and uniforms can be requested to align with a soldier’s gender identity. Many of these advancements have resulted from LT Shachar’s own experiences and the openness of the IDF to respond to its soldier’s needs. This is the message that Shachar brought to his meeting with the San Francisco Human Rights Commission in the International Room of the Mayor’s office at City Hall.
In speaking with Human Rights commissioners, city employees, the San Francisco Police Department, and leaders in the LGBTQ community LT Shachar offered his experience as a way to encourage and support others who are striving to create change, speak openly, and learn from each other.