Lesbian party nights in Pardes Hanna become a statement of visibility
Mia Kidar, a 26-year-old student from Givat Ada, was often told there were no lesbians in the Pardes Hanna-Karkur area. Her response was to co-found Yeshfa, a lesbian party series with partner Hadar Ron, whom she met on a football field. What began as a desperate, last-minute event after the 2025 war with Iran quickly grew into a popular community project, first with a tightly restricted 50-woman gathering in Pardes Hanna and later as a regular club night.
Kidar says the project filled a real gap in a region that includes Pardes Hanna, Zichron, Binyamina and Givat Ada, where there are no lesbian bars, parties or youth events. Yeshfa is designed as a community space rather than an underground scene, mixing women in their 20s with women in their 60s and 70s, and making the organizers easy to reach. "One of the things that most defines the night is that you can talk to us," she says. The events include DJs, alcohol, dancing, seating areas and, at the upcoming party, a "Coupidonia" helper to make it easier for women to approach someone they like.
The atmosphere is also political. Kidar, who has worked with the Hoshan organization, Iggi and Woman to Woman, says the timing matters as LGBTQ venues and positions are being cut back. She cites the closure of the historic Video club in Jerusalem and reports of dozens of LGBTQ coordinators being dismissed. When Yeshfa was advertised in a large Pardes Hanna Facebook group, she says, the organizers were met with heavy hate, including comments telling them to go back where they came from. Still, she insists that creating a lesbian night in Pardes Hanna is "not just entertainment, it's a statement."
The next Yeshfa event is set for Saturday night, June 20, in Zichron Yaakov. The article also highlights other ways queer women meet in Israel beyond dating apps, including matchmaker-style events run by Sivan Biton and the annual Dykeathon in Tel Aviv, a 24-hour lesbian hackathon led by programmer and activist Amit Rahav that now draws about 300 participants and combines tech work, community building and, sometimes, romance.
