Being both HIV positive and a strict Orthodox Jew can lead to a mass of conflicts. But as Ori Golan found out, it doesn't need to
Ten years ago, aged 20, Nathan came out to his family and friends. In
the close-knit orthodox Jewish community from which he hails, this was
scandalous and, to his family, a tragedy.
"My family did not want to know, and friends I had known for years
shunned me."
Nathan is not his real name, but he is a real person and his story is
true.
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At odds with his religious upbringing, ostracised by his kith and kin,
Nathan abandoned his religion, peeled off his garb, left his religious
seminary and bade farewell to the northern British city where he grew
up.
"I decided to go to Paris looking for love," he smiles ironically.
In the French capital, Nathan met Jacques, a Frenchman 15 years his senior.
It was a fatal attraction.
For Nathan, who had lived an insular life, Aids wasn't an issue. "Anyway",
he explains, "Jacques told me that he'd been tested for HIV and assured
me he was negative".
They embarked on a whirlwind romance and had unprotected sex. A few weeks
later,
Nathan fell seriously ill. He had a high temperature, accompanied by night sweats and thrush all over his body. Then, one day, his legs just gave way
