At this year’s 2012 Equality Forum on advancing the rights of international LGTBQ communities, the “featured nation,” Israel, will pinkwash itself, exploiting Tel Aviv’s gay culture in order to make conference goers into hasbara-ites. Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren and drag performer Osher Sabag will take the lead in molding a new crop of “cheerleaders for Israel,” with Oren as the summit’s keynote speakers.
equality forum
“Since 2000 Shin Bet, the Israeli security service, has had a policy of blackmailing Palestinians who are gay or who are perceived to be gay and threatening to out them unless they become informants against their own people,” said professor Katherine Franke in a statement of boycott against the summit. ”For this reason, gay people in Palestine have a reputation as collaborators with Israel – so some of the homophobia gays and lesbians in Palestine experience is the direct product of the occupation itself.”
Franke had originally agreed to speak on a panel at this year’s conference, however, after Palestinian Queers for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions called for a boycott, she removed herself from the event. Instead, she produced the above video short, which was played at the summit. Franke was also part of the first LGBTQ delegation to Palestine, visiting the region earlier this year.
“It’s one thing to express our solidarity with gays and lesbians in another country such as Israel, it’s quite another to become pawns in that country’s foreign policy strategy,” said Franke.
Read the full transcript of Franke’s video statement.
/For this reason, gay people in Palestine have a reputation as collaborators with Israel/
So that’s why they hate gay people, it’s Israel all over again.
Nothing to do with the indigenous culture and religion that as we all know
loves and accepts gay people.
What a wonderful statement! A compelling, comprehensive rebuttal to Israel’s pinkwashing. She makes a lot of excellent points here. I laughed when she says that Oren is “mistaken” about Israel providing refuge for West Bank Palestinian gays – I detected a wink on her part.
I was very fortunate to meet Prof. Franke at a luncheon debate between Dershowitz and Scott Horton about a year and a half ago – we happened to sit at the same table. The subject was “Lawfare,” the horrifying term Israel supporters use to describe efforts to hold their favorite country to some semblance of international law – I’ve seen “diplomatic terrorism” as well. Afterward, I had a brief email exchange with her. She was very bright (obviously), knowledgeable and personable, as anyone can see from her statement here. I hope her message is well-received.
I’m glad to see Israel is being recognized by gay rights organizations. Naturally, a minority will object. For some, sympathy with Arabs trumps all over concerns. But not for everyone.
Clearly, what Tel Aviv police tolerates and what it does not tolerate is very different than in USA. Based on the most recent events, seems that Zochrot activists would be cheerfully ignored by the police (and tolerated by the public) if they only undressed from waist down. While in USA public nudity is typically not tolerated, and public reading from a book is.
After Bograchov and Zochrot incidents I started to read news with a different perspective. There was a report in Ha’aretz about Tel-Aviv police warning the public that African aliens may be snatching purses on Tel-Aviv beaches. Favorite tactic: they pay attention to couples who are “totally pre-occupied with themselves”. Perhaps they represent an Islamic intolerant culture and try to punish couples engaged in public sex?
@- piotr,
Q: African aliens may be snatching purses
R: Actually they were grey [to better blend in with the masses] but during entry [through the heat of the atmosphere] something went horribly wrong and now, instead of snatching up data, their on the beach. Ghonztor apologizes on behalf of himself and his people [they’re squares, but what gives?].