The Jerusalem Open House (JOH, Hebrew: הבית הפתוח בירושלים לגאווה ולסובלנות HaBayit HaPatuach, "Open House" Arabic: البيت المفتوح في القدس للفخر والتسامح‎ Al-Beit Al-Maftoukh), also called the Open House for Pride and Tolerance is Jerusalem's LGBTQ Community Center, advancing the cause of social tolerance. The Open House is a grassroots activist organization of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and allies. Since 1997, the JOH has worked to make Jerusalem a place where all people are free to seek self-fulfillment. The JOH faces the challenge of a tradition of conformist heterosexism that continues to be enforced by almost all social institutions in Israel, including the family, the school, the state, and the religious establishment. This challenge is especially formidable in