Family of trailblazing Israeli trans model Maya Haddad refuse to be a part of her funeral
Maya Haddad was described by one friend as having nobody to “support her”. (Facebook)
Disowned by her family aged 15, trans Israeli model Maya Haddad was terrified of her future.
More than a decade later, and Haddad was in the running to represent her country in the Miss Trans International Beauty Pageant.
But this week, loved ones came to lay wreaths and give eulogies to Haddad, 27, who passed away this week alleged dying by suicide. Her family said they would not take part in the funeral arrangements, local outlets reported.
Haddad played a crucial role in the country’s first LGBT+ strike in 2018.
It saw an uncountable amount of queer Israelis demonstrate for a day against the continuing violence towards the trans community, where hate crime against the LGBT+ people have increased by 54 per cent that year, activists said.
‘You can’t say anything bad about her, there was no drop in her evil.’
As one friend read out Maya Haddad’s eulogy at her funeral in Tel Aviv, her voice trembled. “I hope we are able to say goodbye to you in a way that respects you and your friends,” they said.
“Nobody helped her in her life, didn’t support her. Now, she’s in a good place.”
“I think it’s really a tragedy,” her friend said
“In the end we were our only family, in the end it was our sister.”
Maya Haddad, the 27-year-old Israeli transgender activist that was the symbol of the transgender protest in 2018, passed away yesterday, apparently after self-harm.
We must fight, be louder for transgender folks, everywhere.
Rest in power Maya. pic.twitter.com/x9mQiNm8ax
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) January 20, 2020
Another friend added: “We will remember her only in her good things and in her happy moments.
“You can’t say anything bad about her, there was no drop in her evil.”
Family refused to help or even attend funeral of Maya Haddad.
Friends in her inner circle described how her family refused to contact her, haunting her throughout her life.
Their refusal to attend the funeral forced a local LGBT+ centre to shoulder the costs, the friend, Liaoz Levy said.
“The family did not agree to an autopsy and did not want responsibility for the burial arrangements,” said Levy.
“It is important for me to make it clear that when there is no support from the family, when the family is estranged, persecuted, does not recognise her child – this is what brings a person into very difficult mental states.
“We all need to learn that a child does not come with a swap note, it is impossible to get it, and people should take responsibility for their children.
“If families support their children, those offspring can live a full, beautiful and good life.”
Local councillor says activist’s death ‘the latest in a never-ending chain of trans people who end their loves so young’.
Maya Haddad was a high-profile LGBT+ activist and constant source of empowerment and inspiration to the Israeli trans community.
She used her platform during the strikes to raise the profile of the spectre of increasing violence towards the trans community.
Participants in the 18th annual Jerusalem Pride parade in June 2019. (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)
Her burial saw local councillor and LGBT+ portfolio holder Itai Bronze attend.
“Unfortunately Maya is only the latest in a never-ending chain of trans people who end their lives so young and in tragic circumstances,” he said, according to Mako.
“The constant struggle to be who they are, the estrangement from families, the almost complete obstacle to finding a job and the relentless need to survive against an abusive and violent society towards them and a government that does not count them.
“All result in the unbearable phenomenon that is only intensifying. ”
