Surrogacy law in Israel

Apparently it is legal for heterosexual couples to pay surrogate mothers in Israel, but not for same sex couples, and there is legislation being proposed to change this. As usual, it's complicated.
Ministers will vote on surrogacy for gay couples

"The new surrogacy bill is up for vote: The Knesset Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs will discuss Health Minister Yael German's (Yesh Atid) bill Monday, allowing gay couples to use surrogacy services in Israel.
...
It is still unclear whether there will be a majority to pass the bill..
...
"According to the existing "surrogacy law", only heterosexual couples can have access to paid surrogacy. Two years ago the Mor-Yosef committee was asked to decide on the matter and ruled that gay couples should be allowed to use surrogacy under the condition that the surrogate mother is not paid.

"According to the new bill, Health Minister German supplements what she considers a "revolution," allowing gay couples paid surrogacy – much like heterosexual couples.

"This move – which is expected to bring great demand for surrogacy – is not free of limitations. Couples will be allowed to undergoing only two surrogacy procedures, the couples' mothers and grandmothers will not be allowed to be surrogates; however the possibility of having a family member as surrogate does expand to sisters and cousins.

"In addition the bill limits the age of men turning to surrogacy to 54 and not without limitation of age as it has been until now. On the other hand, the allowed surrogacy age has gone up to 38, two years more than what the existing law permits.

NIR ARIELI: Inframen at Daniel Cooney

Austin, 2012. © Nir Arieli

 Clinton, 2012. © Nir Arieli

"Inframen" at Daniel Cooney Fine Art is a striking series of black and white infrared images of male dancers by New York based photographer Nir Arieli. "The infrared technique allows the artist to examine below the skin, to reveal the blemishes, scars, stretch marks, sun damage and other traces of wear that lie below the surface of his subject's outward appearance. As dancers, the men express themselves with their bodies, at once pushing their physical limits and maintaining beauty in their appearance and movements."

Nir Arieli launched his career as a military photographer, before receiving a scholarship to the School of Visual Arts in New York - he graduated with honors and has received numerous awards since. If you are in New York, don't miss this exhibition.

Elizabeth Avedon: What brought you to work with dancers which appear in most of your work?

Nir Arieli: My cousin Tal, an incredible dancer, introduced me to his dancer friends and their performances. I don't dance at all, not even at a party. I admire dancers because they can do what seems to me impossible. The training process of a dancer teaches the body to do things that it can't do naturally. I observe it like a child, like it's a super power. Aside from the physical qualities, these are people who are so dedicated to what they do, subvert norms of gender and thrilled to collaborate on projects of different art mediums - It's quite a pleasure collaborating with them.

EA: What is the "infra-red" process you use to shoot these?

NA: The infrared process is being done digitally. The photos are taken in high resolution and in color, and in the conversion process to black and white I imitate what the old infrared film used to do. In this technique the warm tones (which are the tones of everything that is under our skin) are turning dominant, therefore sun-damage, scars, stretch marks and freckles are all being emphasized, and the cool tones are turning light. 

Kyle, 2012. © Nir Arieli

Taner, 2012. © Nir Arieli

Nehemiah, 2012. © Nir Arieli

EA: Did you receive your scholarship to SVA through Stephen Frailey's "Photo Global" program?

NA: Stephen Frailey is a significant influence in my artistic journey. I wasn't a part of the "Photo Global" program but he was my department chair during my 4 year SVA BFA Photography program. He is a generous and special educator and artist. The 4-year scholarship I received was the "Silas H. Rhodes Scholarship," named after a co-founder of the School of Visual Arts.

EA: What type of photographs did you begin your career with? 

NA: In my mandatory military service in Israel I was lucky enough to serve as a photographer for the IDF magazine "Bamachane". It was a great experience which thought me not only technique but also a lot about what I'm interested in as a photographer. I realized that journalistic work which requires me to capture moments that I have no control over was not something that excites me. I'm more of a director or a sculptor, I need the interaction with the subject and I value the intimacy that is being created during a photo-session. 

EA: How does your early work contrast with your current fine art photographs? 

NA: The military was like an intense three year school program. We photographed something different each day, both documentary work and portraiture. I got to be on airplanes, on ships and in the desert... I was sent to do assignments. My current personal work is much more intimate and personal. It's about themes that I'm interested in, people that I choose and the dialog of the photo-session. It seems like it's the complete opposite but actually, there are some similarities. I had an agenda as a military photographer to find that gentleness and sensitivity in the soldiers I photographed, which is something I do in my current work. I feel like that period set down the first bricks in this "castle" I'm building.

NIR ARIELI: INFRAMEN 

Exhibition to March 8 

Daniel Cooney Fine Art, New York

New transplant statistics from Israel

The Jerusalem Post has the story: Israel Transplant Center reaches all-time high in number of transplants, potential donors

"Last year brought good news to the Israel Transplant Center and to 392 people whose lives were saved by deceased and live donors.

There was an increase by 24 percent of live kidney donors; 56% of family members of deceased agreed to donate organs; 90,000 more people signed donor cards; and almost half of those who received organs from deceased donors were advanced in the queue because they had signed a donor card.

In addition, the first transplant of a small intestine was successfully performed and 637 corneas were also transplanted in 769 patients (some were split into parts), giving recipients the gift of sight, the center announced on Sunday.

Of the 143 requests to families whose loved ones suffered lower-brain death, 80 of them consented to give one or more organs. The families said it was important to save the lives of others, while the most common reason for refusal were “religious” – even though modern Orthodox clergymen say donating fulfills a very important positive commandment – and the concern that the body to be buried would “not be whole.”

The figure of 392 donated organs was the highest ever.

Of these, 104 of the donors were from live relatives (who gave a kidney or liver lobe), and the rest were from altruistic families who gave their loves ones’ organs.

Of 248 organs from deceased donors, 109 of the recipients had to wait less because they had previously signed up as potential donors. The number of patients waiting to receive a lifesaving organ dropped from 1,114 in 2012 to 1,075 in 2013.

Of the 109 recipients who were advanced in the queue, four received hearts, 25 received lungs, 13 received livers and 67 received kidneys.

Of the deceased donors, 112 were donors of kidneys, 10 of kidney-pancreases, 5 double kidneys (usually from elderly donors), 57 of livers, one liver and kidney, 13 hearts, 24 double lungs, 25 single lungs and one “domino” donation of a liver (when an organ or part of one is removed for the primary purpose of a person’s medical treatment and may prove suitable for transplant into another person)."

HT: Jay Lavee

Organ donor registration in Israel

Judd Kessler and I just got this email from Jacob Lavee (about whom I've written before), with good news that he kindly gave me permission to post:

Dear Al and Judd,

Just a short note to let you know that the Israeli Minister of Health has adopted this week my recommendation to establish by law the modified mandated choice model based upon your work, whereby the issuing or renewal of an ID, passport or driving license will be conditional upon answering the question of becoming a registered donor to which only a positive answer will be given as an option or else the “Continue” button will be selected. It seems that, contrary to my previous worries, the entire registration for these documents is currently being done online and therefore there should be no technical issues to implement this model.

Thank you guys for providing the proof of concept which I cited to the ministerial committee.

This model will be added upon the prioritization model, which is already implemented by law.

Jay
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The work Jay is referring to is a paper, currently out for review at a journal that doesn't like prepublication on the web, "Don’t Take ‘No’ For An Answer: An experiment with actual organ donor registrations," which finds, in a study of the online MA state organ donor registry, that requiring potential donors to choose either "yes" or "no" when asked if they wish to be on the donor registry does not increase registrations, and seems likely to reduce the rate of donations by next of kin when the deceased is unregistered.