top
Palestine
Palestine
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Thu Jun 17 2010 (Updated 06/25/10)
Arab Queers Say No to Pinkwashing Israel’s crimes at the USSF
Zionist Group "Stand with Us" To Present at The US Social Forum in Detroit
From June 22nd-26th, people from across the US and beyond will be participating in a convergence with the mission of building the social justice movement in the US and around the world. However, Social Forum gatherings, which take place around the world, often recreate or perpetuate the social injustices which they seek to address. At the 2010 USSF in Detroit, Michigan, a Zionist organization based in Los Angeles, California called Stand With Us has been scheduled to lead a workshop that could have been called Why you should not support Palestine.

Arab Queers respond by writing: "We, the undersigned queer Arab organizations, are appalled by the US Social Forum’s decision to allow Stand with Us to utilize the event as a platform to pinkwash Israel’s crimes in the region. Stand with Us is cynically manipulating the struggle of queer people in the Middle East through its workshop entitled LGBTQI Liberation in the Middle East.

"Our struggle is deeply intertwined with the struggle of all oppressed people, and we cannot accept that we are being used as a tool to discredit the Palestinian cause. Stand with Us would have everyone believe that the Palestinian cause is an unworthy one because of the homophobia that exists within Palestinian society, as if homophobia does not exist elsewhere, and as if struggles for justice are predicated on some sort of inherent 'goodness' of the oppressed, rather than on the principles of freedom, justice, and equality for everyone, everywhere. Stand with Us would have us all compartmentalize our beliefs, lives, and identities so that solidarity with the queer struggle would preclude solidarity with others."

Read More | Zionists Welcome at US Social Forum

Update: On June 23rd, the leadership of the US Social Forum voted to cancel the workshop. The planning committee announced, "the workshop 'LGBTQI Liberation in the Middle East' (Thursday, 24 June 10:00am to 12:00pm) has been canceled for violating the submission procedure and transparency requirements for all workshops, and for being in violation of the anti-racist principles central to the US Social Forum."
US Social Forum cancels exploitative Zionist workshop

Recent Related Indybay Features: At Least 9 Killed as Israel Hijacks Gaza Flotilla in International Waters | Queers Say No to Pinkwashing Israeli Apartheid
2024-06-11 If Passed, Measure J Will Ban "Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations" Front Page | North Bay / Marin | Government & Elections | Animal Liberation2024-06-11 Activists Stand in Solidarity with Horses Who Lost Their Lives at Race Track Front Page | East Bay | Animal Liberation2024-06-11 Two Years After Shireen Abu Akleh Was Killed, There Still Is No Justice Front Page | Anti-War | Media Activism & Independent Media | San Francisco | International | Palestine2024-06-11 Crisis Team Provides Students with Non-Police Response to Mental Health Crises Front Page | Police State & Prisons | Health, Housing & Public Services | Education & Student Activism | California | Santa Cruz Indymedia2024-06-11 Only a Couple of Thousand Adult Leatherback Turtles Remain in the Pacific Ocean Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | San Francisco | Peninsula | North Bay / Marin | North Coast | California | Animal Liberation | Santa Cruz Indymedia2024-05-25 Demonstrators Denounce Tech Giant's Contracts with Israeli Military Front Page | Anti-War | Peninsula | U.S. | International | Palestine2024-05-13 Actions Call on Biden to Declare a Climate Emergency and End Fossil Fuels Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | Education & Student Activism | San Francisco | Peninsula | California | U.S. | Palestine2024-05-08 Resistance to Deceptive Forest Service Measure Is Growing Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | Central Valley | California | U.S.2024-05-08 Regulators Fail to Protect Schoolchildren from Repeated Exposure to Dangerous Pesticides Environment & Forest Defense | Racial Justice | Health, Housing & Public Services | Labor & Workers | Education & Student Activism | Santa Cruz Indymedia2024-04-24 Across the Globe, Students Set Up Encampments in Solidarity with Palestinians Front Page | Police State & Prisons | Anti-War | Education & Student Activism | Central Valley | San Francisco | South Bay | East Bay | Peninsula | North Bay / Marin | North Coast | California | U.S. | International | Palestine | Santa Cruz Indymedia2024-04-09 Deal Described as One of the Most Significant Urban Land Back Victories in US History Environment & Forest Defense | Racial Justice | East Bay
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$170.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network