Pinkwatching Israel – a global movement for queer powered BDS – is launching its new campaign “Boycott Tel Aviv Pride.”
Tel Aviv is known as a “top gay destination.” However, gay pride brochures fail to mention that it is also an hour away from the world’s largest open prison, Gaza, and that it is built on stolen land. They forget to mention that the gay soldiers you dance with in the pride parade check, arrest, and kill Palestinians on a daily basis. After your day of pride, some tour operators will take you to Bethlehem or the Dead Sea, without telling you that you will travel through the illegally Occupied Palestinian Territories, or that the wine you are drinking in the Golan Heights comes from businesses that have been declared illegal under International Law.
So, why are you proud of Tel Aviv? Perhaps Tel Aviv has a vibrant nightlife, hot gay men, and beautiful beaches, but Israel also has an illegal occupation; restricts the mobility of any Palestinian just because they are Palestinian; and uses your tourism money for its next invasion of Gaza or home demolition in East Jerusalem, after which it will say “but look at us, we have gay rights!” Underneath the beautiful beaches lies a different truth: Israel does not respect human rights!
Be aware of what you are proud of. Israel sponsors Tel Aviv Pride 2016 with over 4 million dollars! It even tries to attract you with arguably homophobic ad campaigns It aims to promote Israel as a prime gay tourist destination, because it thinks gay tourists don’t care about other human rights violations taking place in the country. Awesome right? Not only does Israel want to bring more money to Tel Aviv, it also wants your political support for its ongoing occupation of Palestinian Territories and its violation of Palestinian human rights. And if it can’t get your explicit political support, it will just use your presence as a cover up for its war crimes.
Israel does not only want your gay tourism money, it also wants to turn “every foreign tourist into an ambassador” for Israel. They are like “look how cool we are with our gay rights!” which makes you forget sometimes that you are actually in a warzone, where freedom is a principle limited to Israelis and international gay tourists.
There is nothing hot about cruising in a Warzone!
There is nothing celebratory about gay rights when they do not include rights and equality for all people!
There is no pride in being used by the Israeli State for its propaganda machine!
#BoycottTLVpride until Israel:
Ends its occupation of Palestinian land occupied in the 1967 war and dismantles its Apartheid wall
Recognizes the rights of Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality
Respects, protects and promotes the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.
