Uzi Even was born in
Haifa during the
British Mandate era. He earned a BSc and MSc in physics at the
Technion, and a PhD at
Tel Aviv University. His specializations are
spectroscopy of super cold
molecules,
molecular clusters and
cluster impact chemistry, and the quantum properties of helium clusters. He then worked as a scientist at the
Negev Nuclear Research Center near
Dimona. As a reservist in the
Israel Defense Forces he reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He conducted top-secret military research and served as an intelligence officer during the
Six-Day War and
Yom Kippur War. In 1968 he left his job at the reactor and joined
Lekem, an Israeli intelligence agency responsible for collecting scientific and technical information from abroad. In May 1981, Even leaked the news of preparations to carry out "
Operation Opera" to opposition leader
Shimon Peres. Peres subsequently wrote a letter of protest to Prime Minister
Menachem Begin, and the operation was delayed for a month. In 1982, Even had his security clearance revoked and rank lowered in the IDF reserves and was reassigned to a clerical position after his sexual orientation was discovered. At the time, the IDF's policy prohibited known homosexuals from holding security clearances. In 1993, he participated in the first Knesset hearing on gays and lesbians, and spoke about his ordeal in the IDF over his sexual orientation. His testimony led to
Yitzhak Rabin's government changing the law and regulations to allow homosexuals to serve in the army in any position, including one requiring a high
security clearance. In 1996, after Even's employer, Tel Aviv University, refused his then-partner, Amit Kama, spousal rights equal to those it granted to the spouses of staff in heterosexual marriages, he sued the university with help from the
Association for Civil Rights in Israel. Even won the case, setting a legal precedent. In 2004, Even and Kama married in Canada. On 10 March 2009, the Family Court ruled that Even and Kama could legally adopt their 30-year-old foster son, Yossi Even-Kama, making them the first same-sex male couple in Israel whose right of adoption was legally acknowledged. In December 2012 Even set yet another legal precedent by divorcing Kama. The divorce was granted by the Family Court, since the Rabbinical Court does not recognize same-sex marriages. This might lead the way for straight couples to bypass the religious establishment as well, which - in Israel - holds monopoly on marriage and divorce affairs. ==Political career==