Undressing Israel: Gay Men in the Promised Land

Co-directed by Michael Lucas and Yariv Mozer, Undressing Israel: Gay Men in the Promised Land set out to showcase a side of Israel that, according to Lucas, people outside the country "don't get to see very much."[1] The film was conceived as a positive portrayal of Israel's gay community, intended to counter what Lucas described as a one-dimensional view shaped largely by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[1] It also aimed to counter stereotypes of Israel as a Middle Eastern country of "sandstorms, camels and religious fanatics," emphasizing instead the freedoms enjoyed by gay men in the country.[2]

Lucas described the documentary as inspired by his love for Israel and framed it as an act of advocacy for the country.[1] He said he hoped the film would reach audiences beyond LGBT and Jewish film festivals, encourage tourism, and help combat anti-Israel sentiment — expressing that he was more concerned with that goal than with making a profit.[1][2] The film was Lucas's first mainstream film; his co-director, Yariv Mozer, had previously made the 2012 documentary Invisible Men, about gay Palestinians living clandestinely in Tel Aviv.[2]

Lucas invested approximately $100,000 of his own money in producing the documentary and deliberately chose not to seek government funding.[1] He acknowledged that he might have been entitled to public funding as an Israeli citizen, but said he preferred that such money go to filmmakers who could not finance their own projects.[1]

When Lucas shared the concept with Mozer, Mozer joined as co-director and played a key role in connecting Lucas with many of the film's interviewees.[1] The film features a range of gay Israeli men, including Meretz Member of Knesset Nitzan Horowitz, a young Arab-Israeli journalist, a trainer who had served in the Israel Defense Forces, and a pair of fathers raising children together.[1] That last story — involving Itai Pinkas and Yoav Arad, a married couple who had petitioned Israel's Supreme Court for permission to have a baby through a surrogate mother — particularly moved Lucas.[1]

The documentary premiered at the 2013 Atlanta Jewish Festival in February and subsequently screened at the Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood, Out in the Desert 2013 in Tucson, and festivals in Poland and Germany.[1][2] It was also scheduled to screen at the Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival in June, with additional screenings planned in Brooklyn and Norway; Lucas expressed hope for an American theatrical release, though whether those plans materialized was not established at the time of reporting.[2]

The film's reception was divided along festival lines. It was warmly welcomed at Jewish film festivals but largely ignored by festivals focused specifically on gay and LGBT cinema, and was reportedly rejected or shunned in parts of Europe.[2] Within Israel, television host Assi Azar declined to participate in the film and characterized it as "a pro-Israeli propaganda film."[1]

The documentary's openly partisan stance generated debate both at screenings and in its broader reception. At a Tel Aviv screening, an audience member questioned why the film made no mention of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria. Lucas defended the omission directly: "I can't make a movie that doesn't show the occupation and I said, 'yes, yes I can!'"[2] The Times of Israel characterized the film as not objective, and Lucas himself considered objectivity beside the point.[2]

Lucas also anticipated that the film would be criticized as an example of "pinkwashing" — the allegation that Israel uses its record on gay rights and culture to distract attention from the oppression of Palestinians.[1] He rejected the concept as "bogus" and argued that gay rights progress in Israel was the product of a hard-fought domestic struggle, not a policy concession granted without contest.[1]