7 days ago
‘Anti-Semitic' trans activists ban Zionism at pride event
Trans activists have been condemned for calling for 'Zionists' to be excluded from a pride event in London.
The demand was criticised as anti-Semitic by gay Jewish campaigners, who said most Jews regard themselves as Zionist, believing in their right to self-determination and a Jewish homeland.
The controversy erupted when London Trans Pride published leaflets and posters stating that its event on Saturday was 'not the place for' racism, religious discrimination, sexism, xenophobia or a number of other attitudes and beliefs.
It ended the 'banned' list with the word 'Zionism'.
Jewish LGBTQ campaigners have written to the organisers to point out that the blanket exclusion of Zionism and Zionists 'is not only discriminatory, it is anti-Semitic '.
The Hineni Project, which works to 'mobilise the LGBTQ+ community in the fight against anti-Semitism in all its forms', wrote in its letter: 'Over 90 per cent of Jews identify as Zionist.
'For the overwhelming majority of LGBTQ+ Jews, Zionism is not an abstract ideology. It is a lived identity tied to survival, self-determination, and ancestral belonging.
'It is a belief that Jewish people – who have endured exile, genocide, and marginalisation for centuries – deserve safety, equality, and a homeland.'
It added: 'To declare that Zionism is unwelcome at Pride is to implicitly declare that LGBTQ+ Jews are unwelcome too.'
Jewish LGBTQ campaigners have also accused London Trans Pride of double standards in ignoring the oppression and persecution of gay, lesbian and trans people in areas controlled by Hamas and the Palestine Authority.
The Hineni Project stated: 'This is not theoretical. Since Oct 7, queer Jewish people across the UK have faced exclusion, isolation, and abuse from the very spaces we helped to build.
'Queer Jews have been central to the fight for liberation – from Harvey Milk to Larry Kramer, from ACT UP to the founders of Pride itself. And yet now we are treated with suspicion, silenced, or forced to renounce a core part of our identity just to participate.
'To equate Zionism with oppression while ignoring the persecution of queer Palestinians by Hamas and Fatah is to promote a distorted, dehumanising narrative.
'To focus your activism on Israel – a democracy with legal protections for LGBTQ+ people, including Palestinians – while remaining silent on the 64 countries that criminalise homosexuality, including many where queer people are imprisoned, tortured or executed, reveals a double standard that demands reflection.'
Commentators have said there is a paradox in some anti-Israel campaigners adopting the slogan ' Queers for Palestine ' in protest marches against the Israeli military response to the Hamas attacks of Oct 7 2023.
They point out that gay and lesbian people in Gaza have long faced persecution and have struggled to be accepted in societies with hard-line Islamic governments, in contrast to the treatment of LGBTQ people in Israel.
A spokesman for Campaign Against Anti-Semitism said: 'This kind of exclusion is despicable.
'Not only are Zionists not welcome at London Trans Pride, but the organisers view Zionism as being in the same category as racism and sexism.
'Eighty per cent of British Jews consider themselves to be Zionists; only 6 per cent do not, according to our polling. Zionism is the right of Jews to self-determination in their ancestral homeland.
'According to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism, denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, is an example of anti-Semitism.
'Yet again, for all that 'progressive' spaces boast of inclusivity, that inclusivity doesn't extend to Jews. Not very 'progressive' at all.'
Saturday's London Trans Pride will see a march from outside BBC Broadcasting House, through central London to Parliament Square for speeches and music.
