80,000 Protesters Call for LGBT Rights in Tel Aviv

80,000 people participated in a protest held in Tel Aviv Sunday night which called for equal rights to the LGBT community, according to organizers’ estimates. One woman was arrested for allegedly attacking a police officer, according to Israel Police.

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A new surrogacy law approved by the Israeli parliament on Wednesday provoked countrywide protest after failing to extend the right to use surrogacy to the country’s gay population.

Gallery Calcalist: Sunday's LGBT protests (4 images)

Members and supporters of the Israeli LGBT community called for a general strike on Sunday, a call that was quickly heralded by a large number of companies and organizations operating in the country. Protests were staged all day Sunday in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and other cities across the country.

Israeli non-profit LGBT Task Force, which organized the strike, said the protest is meant to address years-long and widespread discrimination in a country that flaunts values of liberalism and tolerance when courting international pink dollar, while at the same time denying gay rights such as same-sex marriage and adoption.

Among the companies to back the Israeli LGBT community are Apple, Facebook, IBM, eBay Israel, Microsoft, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.