RENWL

Outraged Queer Activists To Protest Israeli Consulate Role In Bay Area Gay Film Fest

Israeli Consulate accused of "pinkwashing" Israeli crimes

A contingent of pro Palestine activists have announced that they will picket the opening night of San Francisco’s Frameline film festival. The opening night for the internationally renown gay film fest which bills itself as the largest queer cultural event in the world, opens this Thursday.

The groups protesting the event—Southwest Asian and North African Bay Area Queers (SWANABAQ), Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT!) and Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC)—are objecting to the participation of the Israeli Consulate-General which is listed among the festival sponsors.

“Palestinian civil society, including all the queer Palestinian organizations, have asked us to respect the cultural boycott against Israel by not partnering with the Israeli government,” said Kate Raphael, a member of Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT!). “There is no justification for queer institutions to ignore this request for solidarity.”

“I was shocked to learn that Frameline Film Festival accepted the Israeli government’s sponsorship,” said Bassam Kassab, an Arab-American screenwriter and movie producer. “The progressive film community and the LGBT community should reject tainted money from any government that picks and chooses which human rights it respects. The right to food and water for Palestinian children and the right to life for human rights activists on flotilla ships cannot be trumped by the Israeli government’s PR campaign to portray few blocks in Tel Aviv as the gay haven of the Middle-East.”

According to their press release the activists expect that Israel’s recent attack on a flotilla of international aid ships, which killed at least 9 peace activists including a U.S. citizen, will increase support in the LGBT community for their demand that Frameline sever its ties to the Israeli Consulate. The picket will feature signs demanding “Don’t Pinkwash Israel’s Crimes,” and will include a brass band.

For more info on the protest check out the following link:

Indy Bay: Queer Activists to Picket Opening Night of LGBT Film Festival