I was glad to find this article. It is a call for action in support of the Palestinian struggle.
Dit artikel in het Nederlands
Cet article en Français
All wars go with propaganda to justify the unjust. Israel is supposed to be close to the Western countries and share our values. It is supposed to be the only democracy in the region and the only state with a policy of equality for women and homosexuals. Israel declares to be the only gay friendly state in the Middle East. That is how it attracts tourists and manages to depict the neighbour countries as homophobic.
Pinkwashing in Israel
An international Queer movement goes against that view and regards this policy as Pinkwashing (Hiding the racist and colonialist side of Israel emphasizing the gay friendly side).
No, we do not agree that a colonial state who organises apartheid and a blockade can be gay friendly. No, the porn with beautiful Israeli men can not make us forget what is happening in real life. No, the soldiers in the Tshahal uniforms (The Israeli army) are not sexy. No, the gay beaches – Arabs not allowed – are not the most beautiful in the world.
When Israel legalises Surrogacy for gay couples it is not a step towards equality but a way of fighting a war against the ‘threat’ of more non-jewish births.
Le Pen in France
These ideas about Israel find a matrix against the background of a growing islamophobia and anti arab racism. Remember what Marine Le Pen (leader of the Front National) said in 2010: “In some districts, it is not good to be a woman, a gay, a jew or not even a French of white person.” A few days ago the French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut declared in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that currently a new form of anti-Semitism emerges together with the growing Islam-ism. Finally the french newspaper Liberation put on her front page an article called ‘The new anti-Semites’. The trap, set by Marine Le Pen is closing around the pro Palestinian movement and the Arab Muslims in France. They are accused of anti-Semitism and indirectly of sexism and homophobia.
Anti-Semitism and homophobia are no longer considered as structural problems of society. These terms are misused to brand people who stand up against the oppression of the Palestinians. Those people are supposed to be not sufficiently freed from religious obscurantism. They are accused of not being sufficiently integrated into our “republican values.”
A task for our the LGBT Movement
The role of the modern LGBT movement should be the same as what the movement Juifs pour la paix (Jews for Peace) is playing. They refuse to justify the war against Palestine by the struggle against anti-Semitism.
Let’s not fall into the trap, set by Marine Le Pen: to divide minorities and abuse them in the fight against homophobia.
The LGBT movement was partly born in the aftermath of the civil rights movement against racism. Today our community does not seem to be aware that Israel has a policy of racial apartheid. We do not help the cause of the Palestinian LGBT by closing our eyes for the suppression they experience as Palestinian men or woman.
On the contrary: their emancipation will advance when the formation of their consciousness goes with the struggle against all forms of injustice. Therefore we invite all ‘sexual minorities’ to be represented in ‘Pink Blocs’ in all social movements against colonialism, apartheid en for peace.
Thierry Schaffauser and Tarik Safraoui
Holebiplus 