June 5, 2024

Rally against pinkwashing.

Take Action

• Support alQaws for Sexual & Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society, a civil society organization founded in grassroots activism to protect LGBTQ+ communities.

• Read “Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique,” which explores the necessity of connecting the struggles for Palestinian freedom with the struggle against homophobia.

• Watch this webinar which outlines the fight for Palestine as a queer struggle.

• Fight for trans and queer liberation everywhere by uplifting actions to #ProtectTransKids and #StopPinkwashing.

Get Educated

Suppose you’ve seen social media content that positions Israel as a “gay paradise” for queer Palestinians, or videos that position the IDF as the “saviors” for queer people. In that case, you’ve likely experienced pinkwashing, a strategy that aims to manipulate LGBTQ+ people to side against Palestine.

Pinkwashing is a tactic where a state or organization highlights its support for LGBTQ+ rights to project an image of liberalism, democracy, and legitimacy. Israel has employed this strategy to distract from or justify acts of violence against Palestinians. The phrase was coined by Sarah Schulman in an op-ed for The New York Times in 2011.

LGBTQ+ Palestinians can indeed face persecution in Gaza. But Israel, much like the U.S., has a long way to go in supporting LGBTQ+ communities. Gay people are allowed to serve in the military, and the nation hosts a Pride party and markets heavily to attract gay tourists. Homosexual acts were decriminalized in 1988, and discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment was banned in 1992 (Carnegie). However, same-sex marriage is not legal in Israel (CBS), and the country’s new far-right government is stacked with openly homophobic members (PBS).

And this purported support for LGBTQ+ communities in Israel has not been extended to Palestinians. Until February of this year, LGBTQ+ Palestinians facing threats due to their sexual orientation could not seek asylum in Israel. In 2021, LGBTQ+ Palestinians who had escaped from Gaza or the West Bank were still being denied work permits and medical care in Israel. The situation gained public attention following the apparent suicide of a transgender woman in Haifa, which ignited widespread protest over the absence of fundamental rights for LGBTQ+ Palestinians in Israel (19th News).

Upcoming Workshops

Despite this, Israel has invested heavily in brand campaigns that tout their support for LGBTQ+ communities. Israel’s official Twitter account often features images of same-sex proposals between IDF soldiers—even though same-sex marriage remains illegal in Israel (Yes Magazine). These same campaigns position Palestinians as “barbaric” or “cruel” for not supporting LGBTQ+ rights, further villainizing the community to justify violence and oppression 

Ironically, this strategy is supported by conservative parties who have already demonstrated their lack of support for LGBTQ+ communities in the U.S. A Wider Bridge, an organization focused on Israeli advocacy, connects queer Israelis and Americans to foster support for Israel within queer communities and progressive groups. The organization collaborates with StandWithUs, a right-wing Zionist entity, and receives funding from contributors and organizations that also support anti-gay groups and figures within the Republican Party. Currently, conservative legislators are responsible for at least 500 new anti-LGBTQ+ bills proposed in 2023, a 60% increase from the year prior (them).

“There’s no pink door in the apartheid wall—pinkwashing erases queer Palestinians, or uses them as props for a narrative in which Israel becomes a savior, while intentionally distracting from the oppression, violence, and racism all Palestinians face.” Jimmy Pasch, In These Times

This strategy erases the efforts of queer Palestinians that are actively fighting against homophobia in their communities and, often, in active resistance to Israel - not in support of their pinkwashing. It implies that genocidal acts are okay if they come with a purported fight for queer liberation.

It also implies a dangerous precedent: that LGBTQ+ people should only care for the liberation of others if their nation openly supports LGBTQ+ people. Queer solidarity must be rooted in our collective struggles against oppression, regardless of our nation’s path toward LGBTQ+ liberation.

Initiatives like No Pride in Genocide are helping to shift public perception around pinkwashing, and organizers like Jewish Voice for Peace and the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights have created resources to address pinkwashing as part of the greater movement for Palestinian liberation. We, too, can do our part to avoid promoting false acts of solidarity and, instead, emphasize that dignity and safety are rights that all people deserve, regardless of their ethnic origin, religious affinity, gender, or sexuality.

Written by Nicole Cardoza (she/her)

Key Takeaways

• Pinkwashing is a tactic by Israel to promote its LGBTQ+ support as a distraction from its oppression of Palestinians, aiming to win over LGBTQ+ community support.

• Israel's portrayal as an LGBTQ+-friendly nation contrasts sharply with the persecution and denial of rights faced by LGBTQ+ Palestinians.

• The misuse of LGBTQ+ rights through pinkwashing erases queer Palestinian struggles, challenging the notion that LGBTQ+ support should condition alliances, and urging solidarity against all oppression forms.

Learn More

• Queer collective calls out ‘pinkwashing’ of Palestinian genocide. Prism >

• An overview on pinkwashing. Decolonize Palestine >

• A Palestinian trans woman’s story peels away Israel’s pinkwashing veil. 972 Mag >

• Why these queer Americans want LGBTQ+ groups to back a cease-fire in Gaza 19th News >