Note: The acronym LGBTQ+ is used for consistency and to correspond to several articles cited, instead of more current acronyms such as 2SLGBTQI.
LGBTQ+ Rights in Israel
Tel Aviv, often referred to as the "Manhattan of the Middle East," stands out as the most gay-friendly city in the region. Renowned for its open and vibrant LGBTQ+ community, Tel Aviv hosts the largest Pride event in the Middle East. Its famous Pride parade, taking place every June, attracts over 250,000 visitors, marking it as a significant event on the global LGBTQ+ calendar and the largest event of its kind in the Middle East.
LGBTQ+ Rights in Gaza and the West Bank
In stark contrast, the situation for LGBTQ+ individuals in neighbouring regions such as Gaza and the West Bank is dire. One is reminded, for example, of the story of Mahmoud Ishtiwi, a Hamas commander executed in 2016 for allegedly engaging in homosexual activity, despite his undoubted affinity with Hamas' genocidal mandate. Prior to his execution, he was reportedly tortured in various brutal ways, including being whipped and hung from the ceiling.
Ahmed Abu Marhia, a 25-year-old gay man, was brutally beheaded in the West Bank, one of many grim reminders of the extreme persecution faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in these areas. About the incident, Reason magazine notes that "what's richly ironic is that many LGBT Palestinians seek asylum in Israel — the same country these stateside protestors are rallying against." In fairness, it has often been a difficult process for LGBTQ+ Palestinians to obtain permanent asylum in Israel. However, a 2024 Israeli judicial ruling strengthened their ability to seek such asylum in Israel. Hen Mazzig, an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights described the ruling as "a very welcome step" which sets a precedent that could ensure more LGBTQ+ Palestinians are granted asylum in Israel."
In Canada
How is this relevant to events in Canada? Just examine what happened at this year's Toronto Pride parade and what has been said by Capital Pride organizers in anticipation of Ottawa's upcoming celebration. These are merely illustrative of the troubling issues for many LGBTQ+ Jews in Canada.
Toronto Pride 2024
The Toronto Pride parade was disrupted by the so-called “Coalition against Pinkwashing.” This disruption represented perhaps the single most absurd protest in a long list of idiocies. (Ranking closely behind in second place were protests on Canadian streets, particularly in Toronto, following Houthi missile attacks on Red Sea commercial vessels, accompanied by chants of "Yemen, Yemen, make us proud, turn another ship around." Remember that the Houthis making Canadian protesters "proud" conscript thousands of child soldiers, and enslave and persecute women. Their slogan is "God is Most Great. Death to America. Death to Israel. A Curse upon the Jews. Victory to Islam.")
Pinkwashing
For those who don't know, "pinkwashing" is a term frequently used by anti-Israel activists who invariably describe any effort to highlight Israel's LGBTQ-friendly culture or the persecution of LGBTQ+ Palestinians as an attempt to divert attention from Israel's alleged crimes. Pinkwashing has become so entrenched in radical left ideology that Canadian students at a major university were tested on whether they knew what pinkwashing is, as it relates to Israel — as if the existence of Israeli pinkwashing was beyond dispute. This is indoctrination, not education. Hen Mazzig, earlier quoted, responded best:
"The notion of pink washing, which means that anything positive that Israel does towards LGBTQ+ people must be a sinister attempt to divert public opinion, is rooted in antisemitism... "What they're basically saying is that there is nothing positive Israel can do, and we can't speak about any positive achievements or progress that Israel is making for the LGBTQ+ community."
Pride celebrates, in a joyful, loving, inclusive way, the important gains made by the LGBTQ+ communities and aspires to preserve and build upon those gains. This year, a large number of new Canadians were able to publicly embrace their gender identities and sexual orientation for the very first time during Toronto's Pride events. Pride is also an opportunity to expose and challenge existing homophobia and transphobia wherever it exists in the world. This is especially important where — as is the situation in Gaza, the West Bank, and Iran — members of the community cannot safely speak out for themselves.
But alas, a small coalition of the ignorant or malevolent chose to protest against the only Middle East state that not only protects its queer communities but embraces them. As already noted, Tel Aviv is justifiably regarded as one of the world’s most “gay friendly” major cities. Despite the ongoing efforts to destroy the Jewish state, Israel has taken in significant number of gay Palestinians, rather than their facing death, imprisonment or disgrace in Gaza. Of course, protestors in Canada are entitled to challenge Israel's military conduct and demand that Israel adhere to international law (leaving aside the fact that those demands are often rooted in misinformation, and the application of double standards). But just once, wouldn't it be nice if protesters set aside their confirmation biases, and critically questioned whether Israel is truly engaged in genocide or ethnic cleansing when LGBTQ+ Muslims, Arabs and/or Palestinians form an important part of the vibrant life of Tel Aviv and the State of Israel? Maybe that isn't pinkwashing, but evidence to the contrary. Just maybe, that isn't pinkwashing, but role modelling.
Better still, wouldn't it be impressive if Pride organizers or protestors called out — or even acknowledged — Hamas's terrible persecution against members of the community in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East? Of course, that rarely, if ever occurs. It is inconsistent with narratives that demonize Israel and all Zionists without distinction.
It was also shameful that Pride Toronto ended the parade before its scheduled completion, rather than asking police to remove the protestors, as was done quickly in New York City when a similar disruption took place. (The decision to reward these protestors was hardly surprising given Pride Toronto's one-sided statement on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.) The Toronto capitulations, whether on our streets or on our campuses merely embolden unlawful protests and extortion, rather than promoting legitimate freedom of expression or protecting the participatory rights of those in the parade.
Pride in Ottawa
This week, Capital Pride, the organizers of Ottawa's August Pride events, issued a statement in solidarity with Palestine. While the organization expressed deep concern for the rising tide of antisemitism and Islamophobia in Canada, and condemned the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, it said it could not "stay silent" in the face of Israel's endless and brutal campaign in Gaza in flagrant violation of international law.
And then this:
"Part of the growing Islamophobic sentiment we are witnessing is fuelled by the pink-washing of the war in Gaza and racist notions that all Palestinians are homophobic and transphobic. By portraying itself as a protector of the rights of queer and trans people in the Middle East, Israel seeks to draw attention away from its abhorrent human rights abuses against Palestinians. We refuse to be complicit in this violence."
Apparently, the organizers had no difficulty "staying silent" about the brutal persecution of LGBTQ+ Palestinians in Gaza. Similarly, they had no difficulty being "complicit" in the ongoing violence against those same Palestinians. I certainly agree that not all Palestinians are homophobic and transphobia. However, even Amnesty International (no friend of Israel) reported in 2023 that consensual same-sex sexual conduct continues to be banned in Gaza and that in September of that year, the Hamas authorities condemned United Nations guidance to staff to treat all genders and [LGBTQ+] people equally. Why? Because such guidance promoted "deviance and moral decay." A BBC 2019 poll under the heading "Honour Killing More Acceptable than Homosexuality" showed that only 5% of Palestinians in the West Bank considered homosexuality acceptable, while 8% regarded honour killings as acceptable. These appalling figures have been greeted by many LGBTQ+ advocates with silence. In the same way as too many supposed feminists in Canada and around the world ignored, justified or denied the indisputable sexual violence against Israeli women.
The Ottawa organizers also "rejected any attempts to use a devastating conflict as a pretext to advance hate." Too bad they failed to acknowledge what constitute the most pervasive attempts to use a devastating conflict as a pretext to advance hate: namely, hatred directed against Canadian Jewry. By failing to do so, their stated mission to "celebrate, advocate, educate and connect people respecting the full diversity of the [LGBTQ+] community" rings hollow. Instead, they have created a less safe space for the vast majority of Jews.
The Middle East conflict between Israel and Hamas has exposed the precarious position of Jewish LGBTQ+ community members, many of whom are Zionists. They often must suppress their core Jewish identities, including their close connection to the State of Israel. Their position is doubly precarious because the vindication of LGBTQ+ rights has been inextricably connected to the so-called progressive left. I say the "so-called progressive left" because the progressive left I knew and worked closely with has been hijacked. Sadly, the so-called progressive left represents one of the most potent sources of antisemitic hate speech and conduct. Many Jewish LGBTQ+ community members are understandably embedded within this political sphere, now poisoned.
To clearly state what is constantly misrepresented, this isn't about suppressing criticism of Israel's policies, government, or practices. Criticisms of Israel are not antisemitic, even if misinformed, if they are similar to the types of criticism levelled against other countries — in other words, when they do not subject the Jewish state to a double standard. Indeed, some of the most strident criticisms of Israeli policies and practices comes from Israelis themselves. Instead, it is the demonization of the Jewish state and of all Zionists, without distinction, including over 90% of Jews, that is antisemitic.
Sadly, LGBTQ+ Zionists speak out at their extreme peril. Those who do should be commended by us all. They are on the front lines of the battle against antisemitism.
Artur Wilczynski, University of Ottawa's Special Advisor on Antisemitism, posted that "[t]he effect of Capital Pride's statement is to further isolate Jews in this city at a time when we are facing unprecedented levels of antisemitic hate crime. Their statement compounds our vulnerability and makes the vast majority of Jews ... unwelcome at Pride."
"Days of Rage"
Wilczynski's comments are particularly apt given the mobilization of anti-Israel agitators in Ottawa this month for a national protest in Ottawa on August 10. The messaging for this protest under the banner "Days of Rage" already transcends the bounds of protected speech. The "advertising" for this mobilization in Ottawa and elsewhere demonizes Israel and its very existence as a Jewish state, characterizes Zionism as a dirty word, and articulates a goal of eradicating Israel and replacing it with a Palestinian state through "legal" armed resistance, a feeble attempt to immunize speech from consequences and an oxymoron given the unlawfulness of seeking the destruction of a recognized nation state through violence. Equally ominous, Instagram messages include, "It used to be called Palestine…. It will be called Palestine …. It is called Palestine," unequivocal in meaning, and counsel readers to, "take back the capital".
We urge the Ottawa police to carefully examine the advertising for the upcoming events in English and in Arabic and on August 10, to focus not only on whether immediate acts of violence or vandalism occur but on the content of the speech prior to and at the march itself. There is a reason we have hate crime laws. There is a reason we have offences that do not exclusively apply to hate activities, but have equal application to hate activities: interference with the lawful use and enjoyment of property, intimidation through threats of violence to a person or through blocking or obstructing a highway, harassment, unlawful assembly, disguise during an unlawful assembly, incitement to violence, disguise with intent to commit an indictable offence, causing disturbances, common nuisance, counselling another person to commit a terrorism offence, even where a specific terrorism offence has not been identified.
I will further address these issues in the coming days. ALCCA will also support the Ottawa Jewish community's decision as to whether and how to participate in Pride events that are of immeasurable importance to them.
Call to Action
In the meantime, I have a specific request. Our Alliance and its allies represent a diverse community that includes, for example, Indigenous leaders, and Catholic and Muslim Zionists. These are some of the most important voices in combatting antisemitism. So this is a call to action, for not just the Jewish community, but for our allied communities across Canada. We need you. The vast majority of Jews who support Israel feel besieged and under attack. You can make a big difference to them, and to governments if you are heard. Please raise awareness amongst others, encourage them to visit our website and sign up for regular reports and calls to action. Please feel free to contact us if you'd like to play a more active role. Thank you.
Mark Sandler, LL.B., LL.D. (honoris causa)
Chair, Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism (ALCCA)
Mark Sandler, LL.B., LL.D. (honoris causa), ALCCA’s Chair, is widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading criminal lawyers and pro bono advocates. He has been involved in combatting antisemitism for over 40 years. He has lectured extensively on legal remedies to combat hate and has promoted respectful Muslim-Jewish, Sikh-Jewish and Black-Jewish dialogues. He has appeared before Parliamentary committees and in the Supreme Court of Canada on multiple occasions on issues relating to antisemitism and hate activities. He is a former member of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, a three-time elected Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario, and recipient of the criminal profession’s highest honour, the G. Arthur Martin Medal, for his contributions to the administration of criminal justice.
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