The latest episode involving the movement to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel over her conflict with the Palestinians involves a GLBT Conference in Chicago. A GLBT organization called “A Wider Bridge” planned a reception at the Creating Change conference of the National GLTBQ Task Force. The BDS groups appealed to the conference organizers and had the reception tossed from the conference. After protest over this decision, the reception was reinstated. However, approximately 200 pro-BDS protesters disrupted the reception. There are eyewitness accounts of a Jew having his yalmulke ripped off, the word “kike” being shouted, pushing, shoving and screaming, and profanity on signs and shouted The protesters chanted, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” At least one observer felt that the protesters didn’t understand that this literally means the destruction of Israel, but the attendees heard this clearly threatening language.
Some of the protesters entered the reception, took control of the stage, and prevented the speakers from the major GLBT organization in Israel, The Jerusalem Open House for Peace and Tolerance (JOH), from speaking. In fact, they were evacuated from the area in fear that the protest would be come violent.
One of the many ironies is that the JOH serves all Israelis and Palestinians. They are religiously neutral. They hire a Palestinian Outreach Director. JOH helped found al-Qaws (“Rainbow”), which became the first LGBTQ Palestinian organization. According to Tom Canning, Development Director of JOH, as quoted by David Taffet, Senor Staff Writer of dallasvoice.com, Israelis and Palestinians mix more freely at JOH than in most other places in Israel. As Mr. Toffet wrote, “Attacking JOH for the Palestinian issue in Israel is like blaming an interracial couple in Mississippi for discrimination.”
One of the purposes of bringing JOH to Chicago was to show support for them after a fatal stabbing at a gay pride parade in Israel last summer. It was to help them feel safer. Instead, they were screamed at and harassed, and had to flee in concern for their safety.
Arther Slepian, the Executive Director of A Wider Bridge, directly addresses the organization’s perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian issue on its website:
“While our work is focused on building connections with, and support for, Israel’s LGBT communities, we are acutely aware that other human rights struggles exist, both within Israel and in the Palestinian territories. Our pride and celebration of Israel’s progress in LGBT rights does not mean that we endorse all the policies of its government. We hope for a time when Palestinians will live in dignity, free from occupation, and Israelis will no longer live with the daily threat of rocket fire or terrorist attack, or the fear of nuclear war.”
This is hardly the statement of an unconcerned or anti-Palestinian organization.
This event shows one of the foundational problems with the BDS movement (and I believe there are many, especially the blatant and latent anti-Semitism within it that so many are writing about). BDS attacks potential allies, thereby hindering achievement of the goal of peace between these two peoples. BDS piles additional hurt upon those already hurting, which is not justified by any rationale for the “greater good.”
This was the wrong target. It was the wrong way