Dear Editor of Gay City News,
I read with interest and appreciation your recent articles on the NYC Dyke March’s stated policy deeming itself Anti-Zionist, one, “NYC Dyke March’s anti-Zionist stance sees mixed reactions from Jewish communities” and “NYC Dyke March draws thousands in condemnation of fascism.”
I am the chair of a major Jewish LGBTQ organization, Eshel, Inc. and a proud Jewish Dyke who participated in the NYC Dyke March for many of the past 31 years since its founding. While I appreciate your “NYC Dykes March against Fascism” framing, I believe the organizers’ approach goes well beyond the promotion of anti-fascism and is ironically an embrace of fascism itself. The NYC Dyke March committee shut down the right of certain targeted LGBTQ women to participate in a pro-LGBTQ rights protest march/celebration of queer women. It deliberately sought to prevent the expression of viewpoints supportive of Israel, a champion of LGBTQ rights in the Middle East. Jodi Kreines, the only Zionist on the NYC Dyke March committee, was told to leave the committee for her Zionist beliefs.
If it’s true that there was no such ban, the committee could have simply asserted to the media that their anti-Zionist statement was merely a “stance” and dykes were welcome to march with pro-Israeli symbols or flags, just as any dyke with a “Free Palestine” sign or Palestine flag was allowed to march, and many did, without objection from the committee.
A lesbian who wanted to march with any pro-Israel or Jewish buttons, or even a Star-of-David Jewish rainbow pride flag — a symbol of Queer Judaism having nothing to do with Israel — would be made to feel extremely uncomfortable, given the committee’s stance. By placing Zionist identity or symbols off-limits, the organizing committee effectively bars anyone from marching unless they disavow Zionism while having anti-Zionist signs and slogans shoved in their faces.
The NYC Dyke March committee has no legal right to ban anyone or any group from marching under their own banner. The committee is an informal, unofficial group of people with no legal standing; the NYC Dyke March does not belong to any organization or individual, and it has never obtained a parade permit from the City of New York. Perhaps that is why they think they can plausibly deny that it banned Zionists from marching. (See link below.) Their denial strains credulity.
Banning “Zionists” is not merely a neutral stance on Middle Eastern politics; it is an identity-based exclusion that targets individuals based solely on their religious heritage and personal convictions. Such a “stance” as well as identity-based exclusion of Zionist Dykes, many of whom are Jewish, foments anti-Semitism. This is not what anti-fascism is; in fact it is the opposite. This is pure hatred of lesbians who embrace Israel — witness the San Francisco Dyke March where the radical anti-Semitic group Gay Shame held a banner that read “Dykes Hate Zionists” while chanting Death to the IDF (Israel Defense Forces). It is not possible to be virulently against the continued existence of the state of Israel and not anti-Jewish at the same time since Israel is the only Jewish country in the world. It feels deeply discriminatory for an LGBTQ march to bar supportive expressions tied to a country that uniquely upholds queer rights in the region.
Israel remains the only Middle Eastern country with legal protections for LGBTQ individuals. It is the only country in the Middle East that recognizes gay marriage (for couples who were legally gay married in another country). Israel provides asylum and even work permits to queer people fleeing persecution from the Palestinian territories, where the murder of LGBTQ people goes unpunished.
Thank you for your extensive coverage, with great photos, of the alternative event, Shalom Dykes, which I attended. I encourage Gay City News to reconsider describing this exclusion of Jewish dykes for their support of the existence of the State of Israel as simply “a stance.” Instead, I invite you to explore whether this policy represents deliberate exclusion of dykes that is rooted in religious and political identity. Such scrutiny is vital to ensuring LGBTQ spaces remain truly inclusive and welcoming.
Sincerely,
Elaine Chapnik, Chair of the Board of Directors of Eshel Inc.
Mohegan Lake, NY
