this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2024
145 points (88.4% liked)

World News

38982 readers
3028 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News [email protected]

Politics [email protected]

World Politics [email protected]


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Last November, Israel’s official social media accounts shared a photo of a smiling Israeli soldier proudly holding a rainbow flag amid the rubble in Gaza, where over 10,000 Palestinians – mostly women and children – had been killed in the weeks following October 7.

Written upon the multi-coloured flag – an iconic, decades-old symbol of LGBTQ+ pride – in English, Arabic and Hebrew, were the words “In The Name Of Love.”

The image quickly went viral. The soldier, a 31-year-old gay man, explained to the media that the Israeli military was “the only army in the Middle East that protects democratic values… it is the only army that allows LGBT people the freedom to be who they are, and therefore I fully believe in our goal.”

Meanwhile, on Instagram, Israel’s account described the image as an “attempt to raise the first pride flag in Gaza as a call for peace and freedom.”

But for many LGBTQ+ activists, and those struggling for Palestinian liberation, the incident represented an almost perfect example of “pinkwashing” – a term that refers to a state or organization’s attempts to use LGBTQ+ rights and symbols to distract or deflect attention from its harmful practices.

all 28 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] febra 13 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

The same Israel that blackmails queer Palestinian civilians to become informants.

The same Israel with politicians sitting in the current government and leading parties that agree that "LGBTQ" is the biggest threat to Israel.

The same Israel that still doesn't allow same sex marriage.

The same Israel that claims that killing civilians is okay because they might be homophobic.

As a queer dude, not in my name. Fuck Israel. I don't give two craps about their pinkwashing.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I sure wish queer people were left out of this war that has essentially nothing to do with them. It's a caricature of intersectionalism. Here's another absurd example: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/stjohns-pride-palestine-action-yyt-1.7253192

St. John's Pride names pro-Palestine advocacy group as grand marshals for annual parade

On July 21, Palestine Action YYT will lead the annual parade, which will wind its way through downtown St. John's and end at Bannerman Park for the Pride in the Park event.

The group has protested throughout the city for months, with downtown marches downtown calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, vigils for those who have died in the conflict, and tent encampments and the occupation of Memorial University buildings to call on administration to divest from companies that are funding the war.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

Pride being used to help disadvantaged victims is fine.

Pride being used to make genocide progressive is vile.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Pride being used to help disadvantaged victims is fine.

The real disadvantaged victims are queer people in Palestine (and especially Gaza), where being gay or trans is persecuted to a degree unlike nearly every other place in the world. Not only are they oppressed by Israel, but they're also oppressed by their own people. Here's a good report on the matter (PDF) https://cdn.sida.se/app/uploads/2021/05/07094749/rights-of-lgbt-persons-palestine.pdf

Human rights should come before anything else, whether it's borders or religion or whatever. The morally consistent position is to advocate for Palestinian freedom that also includes freedom for all Palestinians to be themselves.

[–] thesporkeffect 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Sorry, i misread your comment

[–] Manifish_Destiny 2 points 4 months ago

100%, not the same thing.