21/02/2024
Evan van Zijl & Tommy L writing in the blog of Geelong Anarchists in Australia, as republished by the International Anarchist Federation, say that they have little time for the narrative that Israel is the only state in the Middle East that respects LGBTQIA+ civil rights. They say in their polemical piece "Despite using images of gay IDF soldiers deployed in Gaza proposing to one another, Israel does not have marriage equality and does have backwards laws that allow Rabbinical courts to govern over civilian marriage. Bizarrely, the Israeli state only recognises gay marriage abroad, which is used as a smokescreen by Zionists who exaggerate the criminalisation of homosexuality in Palestine. Israel does however actively ban the marriage of Jews and Palestinians, thanks to a racist law passed with bi-partisan support. There is only one doctor authorised to do gender affirming care in the entire country. The Israeli government’s attempt at pinkwashing through Pride parades has been a miserable failure". They go on to say "Despite several decades of improvement for the rights of the Jewish queer community, these gains are poised to be rolled back under the far-right Netanyahu regime. Even the opposition has labelled the current government’s approach to queer and womens rights as a ‘slide towards theocracy.’"
https://www.anarchistfederation.net/israel-and-the-pinkwashing-of-genocide/