Major LGBTQ+ federation suspends Israeli group, drops bid for Tel Aviv event
A global LGBTQ+ advocacy group has suspended an Israeli member organisation and dropped its bid to hold an upcoming conference in Tel Aviv, following strong calls from Palestinian LGBTQ+ groups to do so.
The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, known as ILGA World, announced this week that its board had suspended the membership of The Aguda, an umbrella organisation for Israel’s LGBTQ+ community.
ILGA World said The Aguda’s proposal to hold the group’s next world conference in Tel Aviv had violated its aims and objectives, and it is now reviewing The Aguda’s larger compliance with the ILGA World constitution.
The Aguda’s bid had been due to be voted on at ILGA World’s conference this month in Cape Town, South Africa.
“We know that seeing the Tel Aviv bid taken into consideration caused anger and harm to our communities,” ILGA World said.
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“We recognise the historical experience with apartheid and colonialism in South Africa: even the possibility of voting on such a bid in their home country would have been at odds with the unequivocal solidarity with the Palestinian people.”
The move follows an open letter by three Palestinian LGBTQ+ organisations to ILGA World last month, raising major concerns about how Israeli LGBTQ+ groups have historically helped “pinkwash” and divert attention from Israel’s crimes against Palestinians.
“In the last year, Israeli LGBTIQ groups publicly supported the genocide against our people,” the groups wrote.
“They led social media campaigns expressing their commitment to taking part in the Israeli killing machine by being proud soldiers.”
The groups said that hosting ILGA World in Tel Aviv, 70km away from Gaza, “as a gay haven and a space for international celebration is not only ignorance or denial, but an international PR campaign to erase their active role in producing and supporting genocide".
Further calls for action
On Friday, a spokesperson for the three Palestinian groups told Middle East Eye that it had been coordinating with a wide coalition of LGBTQ+ groups to put pressure on ILGA World, calling the organisation’s decision “a start”.
The groups said they hope the upcoming conference in Cape Town will be a moment for ILGA World to explore “active ways” in which it will “divest in the near and far future from organisations complicit in genocide and colonialism”.
“This achievement is only one part of our demands as we ask ILGA World to proceed with the expulsion of all Israeli LGBT groups immediately and with no further review or a need to collect evidence,” the spokesperson said.
'Our actions are not about small wins but rather an attempt to raise the discourse and clarify the Palestinian queer movement’s demands against pinkwashing'
- Spokesperson for Palestinian LGBTQ+ groups
“Our actions are not about small wins but rather an attempt to raise the discourse and clarify the Palestinian queer movement’s demands against pinkwashing and the erasure LGBT Israeli groups are complicit with.”
Shiri Eisner, an Israeli bisexual activist, told MEE that she and other queer activists against the war in Gaza support ILGA's decision.
She noted that Israeli LGBTQ organisations cancelled the annual gay pride parade this May, instead holding a pride rally which celebrated individuals who helped the state of Israel during the war.
A transgender reservist, who fought in Gaza, was awarded a medal of pride for her actions in the war.
"The ceremony was conducted as if now was not a time for gay pride but a focus on how to be Zionists," said Eisner.
The Aguda has said it is "deeply disappointed" with ILGA World's decision to "boycott those who work for LGBTQ+ rights and strive toward a more just society".
"The Israeli LGBTQ+ identity embraces both service and contribution to the state as citizens, while continuing to fight for the values of democracy and human rights in the society in which we live," the organisation said.
"As a community, we should not bear responsibility for government policy, and we expect the international community to support liberal voices rather than boycott them."
The ILGA World Conference is scheduled to begin on 11 November.
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