Oh my lord, is the Arab spring coming to Israel at last? Here is the Jerusalem Post reporting on the 10th annual Jerusalem Gay Pride day parade of last Thursday:
‘The theme of this year’s march, led by Jerusalem’s Open House, is “Intertwined Paths,” honoring the way the gay struggle has dovetailed with popular struggles for equal rights, housing, minimum wage and other social issues. The theme was chosen four months ago, but is especially resonant given the current tent protests sweeping the country, which are entering their second week.’
Remember that it is queers inside the American Jewish community who have been among the boldest in helping to liberate Jews from Zionism– because they’ve already broken out of archaic thinking in a radical struggle of their own. From Israel, Radically blonde says it all:
In the last couple of years, I have had the growing feeling that the main struggle of the LGBT community in Israel, or to be exact the main struggle done in the name of the LGBT community in Israel, is the Israeli Hasbara diplomatic struggle.
They use us to promote tourism to Israel. We are used to mock the flotilla initiative.
They use us to wash in pink the blood that Israel has been spilling.
They use us as the fig leaf meant to hide the state’s shame.
They use us in order to portray the state of Israel as liberal and enlightened, waving around the flag of rights that were never granted to us, the flag of security that we’ve never felt, the flag of equality and acceptance that we’ve never experienced.
This is not our struggle!
Thanks to Eleanor Kilroy.
