By Matan Zamir–
Imagine a rare, sunny day in San Francisco, the perfect setting for the annual Castro Street Fair. People are enjoying the day, celebrating, drinking, and spending time with close friends and loved ones. Now imagine that thousands of terrorists emerge, seemingly out of nowhere, armed with grenades, Kalashnikov (rifles), and knives. These terrorists begin brutally attacking the partygoers. In mere minutes, a day of joy turns into a bloodied scene, with piles of desecrated bodies and people attempting to flee for their lives.
Imagine that, the very next day, LGBTQ organizations and influencers speak out, not in support of the victims, but in support of the terrorists. How would you feel? This is what hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ community members in Israel, myself included, have experienced over the past month. We feel disappointed, and we feel abandoned.
For me, one of the hardest things to process in the wake of the October 7th massacre has been the stance of some LGBTQ organizations in the Western world, and of well-known LGBTQ icons. When Israel, a democratic, liberal country, was attacked by a barbaric and bloodthirsty organization that rapes and beheads women, slaughters babies, and burns families alive, many prominent members of the queer community, including some you know here in San Francisco, did not raise their voices for Israel, but for the terrorists. Some chose to stay silent, but as we all know, silence is complicity.
I have always wholeheartedly believed that there is a deep, intimate connection between the Jewish and LGBTQ communities, both persecuted, courageous, talented, and peace-loving. I have always believed that gays around the world knew how to cherish us, appreciate our openness, our liberality, and the miracle we call Tel Aviv. I believed that the hundreds of thousands of gays who attended our Pride parades, and enthusiastically sang our Eurovision songs, would be the first to embrace us during the type of disaster that recently befell us.
What a disappointment! I can hardly believe my eyes when I see drag queens, lesbians, and other queer community members holding up signs against Israel, in support of Hamas, an organization that persecutes and murders sexual minorities. A preacher at a mosque on the Temple Mount once said that “the day Islam rules the land of Palestine, not a single homosexual will remain alive.” Do you know what radical Islam thinks of gays? It would appear that the anti-Israel queer icons do not. Rather than supporting the group that shares their values, they take the side of those who have sworn to destroy Western civilization. They call for a ceasefire, yet refuse to advocate for the 240 Israeli abductees, including a 3-year-old girl and a 9-month-old baby.
What a disappointment.
I ask myself, as people continue to slander Israel in favor of a violent terrorist organization, do they not know the truth? As a gay Israeli man, I can say firsthand that, despite its many flaws, which exist in every country, Israel is an open and accepting place where gays are integrated into society, politics, and the army. Do they not know that gays living under the rule of the Palestinian Authority live hidden and oppressed? They are often murdered, either by Palestinian police or by their own family members. Have they not seen the videos documenting the treatment of gays under radical Islam, which include footage of a young man being put in a bag and thrown off the top of a building? They must not know that gay Palestinians have been known to flee their homes, coming to Israel to live as their authentic selves.
It is hard to put into words the unholiness of the support by queer liberals for the world’s most dangerous terrorist organization, an organization whose goal is to abuse, burn, or behead anyone who does not mold to their extremist views. Don’t you know that, alongside Jews, you, gays, lesbians, and the queer community, are their primary targets?
Matan Zamir is the Deputy Consul General at the Israeli Consulate General to the Pacific North West. https://tinyurl.com/59myvbf9
Published on November 16, 2023
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