Like last year, Pride Month takes place while, on the shores of the
Mediterranean, Israel is committing genocide in Gaza while positioning
itself as an LGBT paradise. We cannot allow our struggles to become a
banner of hatred. Like our Jewish comrades who refused to serve in the
Israeli army, like our Arab brothers and sisters fighting for their
survival, let us shout loud and clear: "No pride for genocide." Israel
is committing genocide in Gaza while positioning itself as an LGBT
paradise. Their strategy is supported and relayed internationally,
including by the organizers of Eurovision, who allow them to rig the
popular vote through state campaigns or by censoring the massive boos
from the audience during their performances. This propaganda seeks to
cultivate the image of a gay-friendly tourist country and an army open
to LGBT people, compared to Arabs who are supposedly homophobic and
backward. Cultivating this contrast provides a moral compass for racist
speeches and actions; this is what we call homonationalism. The Israeli
army produces an extreme version of it by planting rainbow flags on the
rubble of Gaza, beneath which lie the corpses of women and children.
In reality, Israeli society's respect for LGBTI adolescents is
conditional on their enlistment in this Zionist colonial project. Those
who refuse to participate in the massacres at the age of 18 are sent to
prison by court-martial and face intense stigmatization. Moreover, the
far-right Israeli government makes no secret of its ideological basis,
which remains deeply pro-natalist and therefore patriarchal.
Homophobia as a Colonial Strategy
The hypocrisy doesn't stop there, as Palestinian LGBTI organizations
like Al-Qaws denounce the Israeli army's blackmail strategy. This
strategy forces Palestinians to serve as informants on the resistance's
activities for their colonizers. Homosexuals are regularly targeted and
trapped as part of this strategy.
This forced espionage has led to the deaths of several homosexuals and
reinforces a climate of mistrust within Palestinian society. In Gaza,
this organized homophobia was also fueled by the funding of Hamas in its
early days. The Israeli government's objective was to reduce the
influence of secular organizations in the Palestinian resistance, as
they enjoyed too much international support. Indeed, these organizations
proposed a vision of a democratic Palestine whose citizens, whether
atheist or of Jewish, Muslim, or Christian faiths, could live in freedom
and equality.
Finally, Al-Bait Al-Mokhtalef (an LGBTI organization of Arabs living in
Israel) denounces Israel's continued obstruction of asylum requests from
trans and queer Palestinians, both within its territory and in third
countries. For the Zionist state, LGBTI Arabs are, above all, Arabs who
threaten its ethnonationalist project by their mere existence in the
territory where they seek to create a national majority.
By creating a climate of widespread mistrust against LGBT people and
preventing their asylum, Israel uses sexuality and transgender identity
as a means of colonial control that divides the colonized population.
We cannot allow our struggles to become a banner of hatred. Like our
Jewish comrades who refused to serve in the Israeli army, like our Arab
brothers and sisters fighting for their survival, let us shout loud and
clear: "No pride for genocide."
In the face of colonial propaganda, in the face of homophobia and
transphobia in the service of apartheid, let us support the secular
Palestinian resistance for a free, democratic and secular Palestine.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?NO-PRIDE-FOR-GENOCIDE
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Mediterranean, Israel is committing genocide in Gaza while positioning
itself as an LGBT paradise. We cannot allow our struggles to become a
banner of hatred. Like our Jewish comrades who refused to serve in the
Israeli army, like our Arab brothers and sisters fighting for their
survival, let us shout loud and clear: "No pride for genocide." Israel
is committing genocide in Gaza while positioning itself as an LGBT
paradise. Their strategy is supported and relayed internationally,
including by the organizers of Eurovision, who allow them to rig the
popular vote through state campaigns or by censoring the massive boos
from the audience during their performances. This propaganda seeks to
cultivate the image of a gay-friendly tourist country and an army open
to LGBT people, compared to Arabs who are supposedly homophobic and
backward. Cultivating this contrast provides a moral compass for racist
speeches and actions; this is what we call homonationalism. The Israeli
army produces an extreme version of it by planting rainbow flags on the
rubble of Gaza, beneath which lie the corpses of women and children.
In reality, Israeli society's respect for LGBTI adolescents is
conditional on their enlistment in this Zionist colonial project. Those
who refuse to participate in the massacres at the age of 18 are sent to
prison by court-martial and face intense stigmatization. Moreover, the
far-right Israeli government makes no secret of its ideological basis,
which remains deeply pro-natalist and therefore patriarchal.
Homophobia as a Colonial Strategy
The hypocrisy doesn't stop there, as Palestinian LGBTI organizations
like Al-Qaws denounce the Israeli army's blackmail strategy. This
strategy forces Palestinians to serve as informants on the resistance's
activities for their colonizers. Homosexuals are regularly targeted and
trapped as part of this strategy.
This forced espionage has led to the deaths of several homosexuals and
reinforces a climate of mistrust within Palestinian society. In Gaza,
this organized homophobia was also fueled by the funding of Hamas in its
early days. The Israeli government's objective was to reduce the
influence of secular organizations in the Palestinian resistance, as
they enjoyed too much international support. Indeed, these organizations
proposed a vision of a democratic Palestine whose citizens, whether
atheist or of Jewish, Muslim, or Christian faiths, could live in freedom
and equality.
Finally, Al-Bait Al-Mokhtalef (an LGBTI organization of Arabs living in
Israel) denounces Israel's continued obstruction of asylum requests from
trans and queer Palestinians, both within its territory and in third
countries. For the Zionist state, LGBTI Arabs are, above all, Arabs who
threaten its ethnonationalist project by their mere existence in the
territory where they seek to create a national majority.
By creating a climate of widespread mistrust against LGBT people and
preventing their asylum, Israel uses sexuality and transgender identity
as a means of colonial control that divides the colonized population.
We cannot allow our struggles to become a banner of hatred. Like our
Jewish comrades who refused to serve in the Israeli army, like our Arab
brothers and sisters fighting for their survival, let us shout loud and
clear: "No pride for genocide."
In the face of colonial propaganda, in the face of homophobia and
transphobia in the service of apartheid, let us support the secular
Palestinian resistance for a free, democratic and secular Palestine.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?NO-PRIDE-FOR-GENOCIDE
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten