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Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT!) is a gay San Francisco Bay Area political action group supporting boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel; and opposing Pinkwashing of the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. [1] It was founded in early 2001 by a member of LAGAI-Queer Insurrection. [2]
The group "supports divestment, the right of return for all Palestinians, immediate Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territories and describes Zionism as racism." [3]
The group opposes Pinkwashing (promoting through an appeal to "queer-friendliness") of the Israeli government and its anti-Palestinian policies. [1]
In December, 2004, one of QUIT!'s founders, Kate Bender-Raphael was arrested by Israeli authorities while "filming a clash between Israeli soldiers and activists protesting the building of the separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bil'in." [13] [14] [15] Bender-Raphael had been arrested in Israel and deported in 2003 "also for filming the Israel Defense Forces' reaction to a demonstration against the barrier." [13] As a result of her arrest, QUIT! staged a protest outside the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco. [14] [16]
In late 2004, in response to Interpride's decision that the Israeli group Jerusalem Open House would host the second World Pride parade in 2005, QUIT! launched a Boycott World Pride [17] campaign. The boycott picked up steam after the event was postponed until August 2006 because of the pullout of the Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip. QUIT and many other individuals and organizations contended that it was inappropriate to hold an event titled "Love Without Borders" in a city bisected by a 30-foot concrete wall. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) [18] decided, in March 2006, not to participate in World Pride Jerusalem, stating, "IGLHRC recognizes that many LGBTI people in the region who wish to attend World Pride 2006, named 'Love without Borders,' will be unable to do so due to travel restrictions and conditions that limit mobility and participation." [19]
In an open letter signed by more than 100 artists and writers, including Sophie Fiennes, Elia Suleiman, Ken Loach, Haim Bresheeth, Jenny Morgan, John Berger, Arundhati Roy, Ahdaf Soueif, Eduardo Galeano, Brian Eno, and Leon Rosselson, Frameline was asked "to honor calls for an international boycott of Israeli political and cultural institutions, by discontinuing Israeli consulate sponsorship of the LGBT film festival and not cosponsoring events with the Israeli consulate." [20]
A pink triangle has been a symbol for the LGBT community, initially intended as a badge of shame, but later reclaimed as a positive symbol of self-identity. In Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, it began as one of the Nazi concentration camp badges, distinguishing those imprisoned because they had been identified by authorities as gay men. In the 1970s, it was revived as a symbol of protest against homophobia, and has since been adopted by the larger LGBT community as a popular symbol of LGBT pride and the LGBT movements and queer liberation movements.
Queer Nation is an LGBTQ activist organization founded in March 1990 in New York City, by HIV/AIDS activists from ACT UP. The four founders were outraged at the escalation of anti-gay violence on the streets and prejudice in the arts and media. The group is known for its confrontational tactics, its slogans, and the practice of outing.
Jewish Voice for Peace is an American anti-Zionist left-wing Jewish advocacy organization that is critical of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, and supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.
Black Laundry is a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) organization that uses direct action to oppose Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and advocate for social justice. The group made its first public appearance in 2001 after the second Intifada, where 250 members marched in the Tel Aviv Pride Day parade with the message 'No Pride in Occupation.'
Gay Shame is a movement from within the queer communities described as a radical alternative to gay mainstreaming. The movement directly posits an alternative view of gay pride events and activities which have become increasingly commercialized with corporate sponsors as well as the adoption of more sanitized, mainstream agendas to avoid offending supporters and sponsors. The Gay Shame movement has grown to embrace radical expression, counter-cultural ideologies, and avant-garde arts and artists.
A dyke march is a lesbian visibility and protest march, much like the original Gay Pride parades and gay rights demonstrations. The main purpose of a dyke march is the encouragement of activism within the lesbian and sapphic community. Dyke marches commonly take place the Friday or Saturday before LGBT pride parades. Larger metropolitan areas usually have several Pride-related happenings both before and after the march to further community building; with social outreach to specific segments such as older women, women of color, and lesbian parenting groups.
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, commonly called The Center, is a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population of New York City and nearby communities.
Over the course of its history, the LGBT community has adopted certain symbols for self-identification to demonstrate unity, pride, shared values, and allegiance to one another. These symbols communicate ideas, concepts, and identity both within their communities and to mainstream culture. The two symbols most recognized internationally are the pink triangle and the rainbow flag.
The Frameline Film Festival began as a storefront event in 1976. The first film festival, named the Gay Film Festival of Super-8 Films, was held in 1977. The festival is organized by Frameline, a nonprofit media arts organization whose mission statement is "to change the world through the power of queer cinema". It is the oldest LGBTQ+ film festival in the world.
The Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1997 that runs an LGBTQ community center offering educational and social events and a health center that provides physical and mental care. Since 2002, JOH has also organized an annual Jerusalem Pride march.
Homosexuality in the Palestinian territories is considered a taboo subject; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people experience persecution and violence. There is a significant legal divide between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with the former having more progressive laws and the latter having more conservative laws. Shortly after the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank in 1950, same-sex acts were decriminalized across the territory with the adoption of the Jordanian Penal Code of 1951. In the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip and under Hamas' rule, however, no such initiative was implemented.
Disinvestment from Israel is a campaign that aims to use disinvestment to pressure the government of Israel to put "an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories captured during the 1967 military campaign." The disinvestment campaign is related to other economic and political boycotts of Israel.
Homosexual relations were legalised in the state of Israel in 1988, and during the 1990s various forms of discrimination were prohibited. Debate has since centred on recognition of same-sex partnerships and the rights they confer, including inheritance, residency, and the adoption of children. The staging of LGBT pride parades has been controversial in some cases.
This is a timeline of notable events in the history of non-heterosexual conforming people of South Asian ancestry, who may identify as LGBTIQGNC, men who have sex with men, or related culturally-specific identities such as Hijra, Aravani, Thirunangaigal, Khwajasara, Kothi, Thirunambigal, Jogappa, Jogatha, or Shiva Shakti. The recorded history traces back at least two millennia.
Students for Justice in Palestine is a pro-Palestinian college student activism organization in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. It has campaigned for boycott and divestment against corporations that deal with Israel and organized events about Israel's human rights violations. In 2011, The New York Times reported that "S.J.P., founded in 2001 at the University of California, Berkeley, has become the leading pro-Palestinian voice on campus."
Pinkwashing, also known as rainbow-washing, is the strategy of promoting LGBT rights protections as evidence of liberalism and democracy, especially to distract from or legitimize violence against other countries or communities. The concept has been used by Sarah Schulman in 2011 with reference to Israeli government public relations, and is related to homonationalism, the exploitation of sexual minorities to justify racism and xenophobia. Pinkwashing is a continuation of the civilizing mission used to justify colonialism, this time on the basis of LGBT rights in Western countries. More broadly, pinkwashing can also be defined as "the deployment of superficially sympathetic messages for [ends] having little or nothing to do with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) equality or inclusion", including LGBT marketing.
A Wider Bridge is a United States based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which has a goal of connecting LGBT communities in the U.S. and Israel and advocating for LGBT rights in Israel. Their tagline is "Equality in Israel and Equality for Israel.” The organization currently has offices in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York, and Tel Aviv.
Aswat - Palestinian Feminist Center for Gender and Sexual Freedoms, also known as Aswat, is an Israel-based feminist organization that advocates for lesbians and other LGBT women in the Palestinian community. The group was founded in 2003, making it the first Palestinian organization for lesbians. It was initially membership-based, but has since transitioned to a movement-based structure. It is based in Haifa, Israel.
Ghadir Shafie is a Palestinian activist and feminist. She is the co-director of Aswat, an organization of queer Palestinian women, which she joined in 2008.
