Stop thinking in binaries already!
Sometimes, social media doom scrolling is soothing. Other times, it’s infuriating. You see, occasionally, the algorithm throws something into our feeds to see if we’ll bite. Usually, these random things are meant to help the algorithm fine tune their profile of us. Did, for example, we change our views on something? Or, if we’ve never engaged with a particular news topic, where do we stand on the issue.
I say this because the algo threw some American conservative nonsense at me. After retching a bit, I wondered how colossally ignorant this particular pundit must be to hold such an opinion. The article was from Glenn Beck’s Blaze TV. The piece wondered at why almost the entirety of the LGBTQIA+ community supports the Palestinians’ cause.
Like watching a car crash scene over and over, I was oddly fascinated at the enormity of this person’s stupidity as contained in the wee bit of text shown in the feed. But, I didn’t directly click on it, lest my feed be forever polluted with such drivel. No, I copied the link address and opened it up in Duck Duck Go’s privacy browser.
This glittering jewel of colossal ignorance presented a simple premise, that because Islam generally condemns homosexuality, that the LGBTQIA+ community should not support the Palestinians. After all, the numpty reasoned, if someone like me (neuroqueer) was in a Palestinian-controlled Palestine, the Palestinians would behead me immediately.
Simple binaries?
To be sure, Beck’s view is likely informed by his religion and his politics. He’s a Latter Day Saint (aka, Mormon). He’s a ardent capitalist and head of a media empire. The LDS religion, it can be argued quite easily, is colonial in nature. He’s also a rabid supporter of the Zionist regime in Israel-Palestine.
What Beck seems to believe is that if I recognise that Islam doesn’t have a favourable view of me or my lifestyle, then I must side with it’s current enemy - Israel. Now, how ridiculous is that? It’s us v. them. It’s binary. It’s completely reductive. It’s ignorant.
Beck went on to claim that not a single person in the LGBTQIA+ community has come out to articulate why we almost unanimously support the Palestinian resistance. I seem to recall that I have, not too recently (link). Perhaps it’s because I didn’t specifically note in that article where I am in the LGBTQIA+ community. If you need a refresher, click here.
Simply human.
I don’t think it a stretch at all to oppose a genocide. It’s not even hard. I don’t have to agree with Islam. I don’t have to agree with a single thing about how the average Palestinian chooses to live their life. I could have never met a single Palestinian … and I can easily be against genocide.
We can sort out our differences later. But, in order to do so, they need to be alive. And, right now, it’s not looking too good.
If you need to catch up on settler-colonialism and Zionism, you can start with Gaza Fights for Freedom, free on YouTube (link). If you think the source biased, then we can take former US President Harry S. Truman at his word when he said, “you can't move five or six million people out of a country and fill it up with five or six million more and expect both sets of them to be pleased.” (source) Well, Israel is doing the 1948 Nakba all over again. This time, it’s a lot bloodier than 1948.
Why call it a genocide?
Do the systematic targeting of hospitals and medical infrastructure combined with the blockade on food, water, and medical supplies—which medical experts warn will lead to an exponential rise in fatal diseases—amount to an act of genocide against the people of Gaza? The legal definition of genocide includes "deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part." (source)
Do statements by Israeli officials calling for the mass killing, forced displacement, or "erasure" of Palestinians in Gaza indicate genocidal intent as required by the legal definition? (source)
Does the indiscriminate bombing of densely populated civilian areas like the Jabalia refugee camp, knowing it will cause high casualties, meet the threshold for inflicting "conditions of life calculated to bring about [the group's] physical destruction"? (source)
Do restrictions on humanitarian access and attacks on medical infrastructure, leading to shortages of food, water, electricity and medical care for civilians, constitute the deliberate infliction of life-threatening conditions aimed at the destruction of the people of Gaza? (source)
Thus, when examining the situation in Gaza, there is strong evidence to suggest Israel's conduct meets the criteria for genocide as defined by the 1948 Genocide Convention. This includes the mass killing of civilians, the intentional infliction of life-threatening conditions, and statements by officials calling for the destruction of Palestinians. The indiscriminate bombing campaign has resulted in over 10,000 deaths so far, predominantly women and children, reflecting a substantial effort to kill members of the group. The blockade on basic necessities like food, water, and electricity—compounded by the destruction of infrastructure—seems calculated to bring about the physical demise of Gazans. Meanwhile, rhetoric from Israeli leaders referring to "erasing" Gazans and calling them "animals" points toward a genocidal intent. Given the scale of civilian fatalities, the creation of deadly conditions, and the presence of destructive aims articulated by those directing operations, there is a credible case that Israel's actions violate the Convention. Whilst complex to prove legally (as noted in my previous article on the topic), these factors suggest a very concerning movement toward genocide that demands urgent action.
Historical comparisons?
Some are comparing what is going on in Gaza to the Nazi’s actions towards the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto. Whilst Gaza is smaller in scale, Israel has imposed debilitating blockade conditions on the concentrated Palestinian population there, restricting basic necessities like food, electricity, fuel, water, and medical care. This mirrors the terrible living conditions deliberately inflicted on Jews crammed into the enclosed districts of the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII. The similar heavy toll of civilian casualties is also an ominous parallel.
Again, some Israeli officials have stated aims of "erasing Gaza" or removing Palestinians from the territory altogether, along with rhetoric that dehumanizes the population there. So whilst stopping short of industrial extermination, there does appear to be intent to eliminate Palestinians from the land. This echos the Nazi's ultimate goal in concentrating Jewish populations in ghettos as part of the development of their Final Solution.
So despite differences in absolute scale and specifics of implementation, the concentration of the Palestinian people into Gaza under blockade conditions that prompted a UN expert to warn of an impending genocide, paired with expressed nationalistic ambitions of removing Palestinians from the territory, certainly bears troubling similarities to the Warsaw Ghetto. There are clear resonant themes around concentration, dehumanisation, and desired elimination that, whilst not identical, show deeply concerning parallels between the situations. This wider context elevates the urgency for the world to respond to better protect civilian life in Gaza.
What about the queers?
Back to the original premise, that Beck can not fathom why the LGBTQIA+ community supports the Gazans. He also noted that in “doing his research” on the issue, he couldn’t find one article that articulated the position held by the LGBTQIA+ community since 2010. He seemed mystified at our silence on the issue.
Yet, when I went to Bing to find answers to his question, I found over a million results. Maybe he should use Bing? … they say, sarcastically. Here’s a few that popped up at the top.
In a 2021 Gay Times article, the author interviews Palestinian academic Sa'ed Atshan, who explains how "queer Palestinians are simultaneously facing oppression from the ethnocratic Zionist system and heteronormative social norms" in their society. He coins the term "ethno-heteronormativity" to describe this.
Atshan argues that all liberation struggles are connected, so the LGBTQIA+ community should care about universal freedom. As he states, "Freedom has to be universal. To dismiss the collective humanity of the Palestinian people is a profound form of injustice." The article explains how Israel promotes itself as LGBTQIA-friendly, but it is also occupying Palestinian land and denying basic rights. Atshan says "How are Palestinians supposed to build a truly democratic, pluralistic society...as long as we remain under a brutal [Israeli] regime?"
Additionally, the article traces how British colonialism exported Victorian homophobia to its colonies, including Mandate Palestine. Atshan says "We have to think about those legacies of colonial homophobia, and the British were a huge exporter of homophobia all over the world." So there is shared cause in opposing imperialism and networking for justice globally between these communities.
With statements on the universal need for "solidarity" across "lines of difference" and a shared stake in countering "ethno-heteronormativity," the article presents a perspective that it is very reasonable and in their interests for the LGBTQIA+ community to stand with Palestinians.
In this 2023 Queeer AF article, the author, a queer Muslim himself (albeit with a Glasgow accent), recounts being attacked and called a "terrorist" by far-right protesters in London. He explains how queer people understand what it's like to be targeted for looking different. Similarly, queer Muslims face Islamophobia and homophobia/transphobia simultaneously with their intersecting identities. This shows the shared struggle.
The article condemns Israel's practice of "pinkwashing" - using LGBTQIA+ rights claims to justify military actions that in fact harm queer Palestinians. It criticizes Israel tweeting a rainbow flag in front of bombed out buildings in Gaza where queer children lived, saying "We shouldn't allow our rights to be used as a tool for war."
It traces how British colonialism exported anti-LGBTQIA+ laws still present in Palestine. Yet the author faced hate crime in the UK itself. This highlights the hypocrisies of selectively criticizing human rights abroad while neglecting them domestically.
With discussion of "the intersection of Islamophobia and Queerphobia," the universality of freedom struggles, and the need to see Gazans as "Queer humans that just want to live," the article presents a compelling rationale for LGBTQIA+ solidarity with Palestinians rooted in shared humanity and the quest for liberation.
So it can hardly be said that the LGBTQIA+ community has been silent.
Final thoughts
I hope that I’ve made my point, that it is perfectly logical and reasonable for the LGBTQIA+ community to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians and against genocide. Though conservative critics may accuse us of acting against our self-interests, the arguments and evidence show otherwise.