Tel Aviv Gay Pride Week accused of “pinkwashing” Israeli abuses

[dexterm]

Nothing against Gay Pride Week or Gay Parades at all. I support them because I hate all forms of bullying.

Other repressive racist regimes in history have used the Olympics and sport to make themselves appear legitimate, internationally acceptable, and normal.

Israel is using Gay Pride Week to do the same: paint itself in a favorable light as great humanists, when less than an hour's drive away from Tel Aviv everything is anything but normal as Israel denies basic human rights to millions of Palestinians.

"They forget to mention that the gay soldiers you dance with in the pride parade check, arrest and kill Palestinians on a daily basis".

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/video-tel-aviv-pride-cant-pinkwash-israels-crimes

Edited June 5, 2016 by dexterm

[stevenl]

Just another PR diversion tactic from the Israeli government. The whole event is sponsored with Israeli government funds. The same government that funds the illegal occupation and settlements in Palestine.

In times that (another) French peace initiative has been planned, a soldier should be tried for murder in exection style, the in-house Knesset political rivalities,...no surprise at all...they did the same in Paris by organizing 'Tel-Aviv Sur-Seine' to focus on PR strategies...instead of all the international law crimes.

Let's not forget that the so called 'Palestinian knife intifada' started 'suddenly' after a solo extremist stabbed multiple LGBT paraders in Jerusalem.

OP is also another attempt to falsely promote freedom of diversity.

The OP is a PR attempt to misrepresent facts. The reality being a mass event, the alternative version giving center stage and highlighting minor dissenting views.

And obviously, no issues with posting nonsense diversions as well - the event was declared before the French peace initiative was on the cards. It is an annual event, whereas the French effort was an ad hoc one. Same goes for tying the event with current domestic political rivalries - event had nothing to do with these.

And let us not forget another nonsense attempt to hint at conspiracy - implying a connection between the stabbing at the Jerusalem LGBT parade and the "Palestinian knife intifada". Just to put "suddenly" in perspective, the former was July 2015, the beginning of the current wave of Palestinian violence usually references September 2015. As far as I am aware, no credible interpretation ties between the two.

I can understand and support criticisms of Israeli government policies as towards any nation with flaws.

But the Gay Pride events in Tel Aviv are a very positive thing.

Only the obsessive Israel demonization agenda (and also of course general anti-GLBT civil rights forces that hate any Gay Pride events anywhere in the world) would try to throw dirt on it.

To the Israel demonization agenda, if it's in Israel and it's not something that demonizes or shows Israel in a bad light, it's worthy of attack.

The GLBT civil rights situation in Israel which is pretty good benefits not only Israel Jews but Israeli Arabs as well, and there is also the thorny issue of oppressed GLBT Palestinians seeking asylum in Israel, at least as a step in migrating elsewhere.

It's my impression that Israel doesn't treat such asylum seekers very well ... so there's a case of normal criticism.

To add, recently there was the FIRST Miss TRANS Israel pageant and the winner was an Arab trans woman. To the obsessive Israel demonization agenda, that would likely be seen as an elaborate "pinkwashing" conspiracy theory. Never mind what really happened ... the BEST trans woman contestant won regardless of ethnicity.

Frankly, I would hope that the Israel demonization agenda would take a BREAK once in a blue moon. Something like, yeah we hate Israel, don't think it should have ever existed and dream of the day that it doesn't exist, but heck, congratulations on some great Gay Pride events anyway. Talk about a dream!

The critizism is coming from the Israeli GLBT community.

[Jingthing]

Just another PR diversion tactic from the Israeli government. The whole event is sponsored with Israeli government funds. The same government that funds the illegal occupation and settlements in Palestine.

In times that (another) French peace initiative has been planned, a soldier should be tried for murder in exection style, the in-house Knesset political rivalities,...no surprise at all...they did the same in Paris by organizing 'Tel-Aviv Sur-Seine' to focus on PR strategies...instead of all the international law crimes.

Let's not forget that the so called 'Palestinian knife intifada' started 'suddenly' after a solo extremist stabbed multiple LGBT paraders in Jerusalem.

OP is also another attempt to falsely promote freedom of diversity.

The OP is a PR attempt to misrepresent facts. The reality being a mass event, the alternative version giving center stage and highlighting minor dissenting views.

And obviously, no issues with posting nonsense diversions as well - the event was declared before the French peace initiative was on the cards. It is an annual event, whereas the French effort was an ad hoc one. Same goes for tying the event with current domestic political rivalries - event had nothing to do with these.

And let us not forget another nonsense attempt to hint at conspiracy - implying a connection between the stabbing at the Jerusalem LGBT parade and the "Palestinian knife intifada". Just to put "suddenly" in perspective, the former was July 2015, the beginning of the current wave of Palestinian violence usually references September 2015. As far as I am aware, no credible interpretation ties between the two.

I can understand and support criticisms of Israeli government policies as towards any nation with flaws.

But the Gay Pride events in Tel Aviv are a very positive thing.

Only the obsessive Israel demonization agenda (and also of course general anti-GLBT civil rights forces that hate any Gay Pride events anywhere in the world) would try to throw dirt on it.

To the Israel demonization agenda, if it's in Israel and it's not something that demonizes or shows Israel in a bad light, it's worthy of attack.

The GLBT civil rights situation in Israel which is pretty good benefits not only Israel Jews but Israeli Arabs as well, and there is also the thorny issue of oppressed GLBT Palestinians seeking asylum in Israel, at least as a step in migrating elsewhere.

It's my impression that Israel doesn't treat such asylum seekers very well ... so there's a case of normal criticism.

To add, recently there was the FIRST Miss TRANS Israel pageant and the winner was an Arab trans woman. To the obsessive Israel demonization agenda, that would likely be seen as an elaborate "pinkwashing" conspiracy theory. Never mind what really happened ... the BEST trans woman contestant won regardless of ethnicity.

Frankly, I would hope that the Israel demonization agenda would take a BREAK once in a blue moon. Something like, yeah we hate Israel, don't think it should have ever existed and dream of the day that it doesn't exist, but heck, congratulations on some great Gay Pride events anyway. Talk about a dream!

The critizism is coming from the Israeli GLBT community.

If so, a tiny minority of them. Proving nothing about the majority views. That's why I call such news JEW WASHING. The Israel demonization agenda grabs onto negative statements about Israel from Jews or Israelis and attributes extra special meaning and power to them, which they do not have. Israel is a democracy and dissenting views and criticisms are part of the normal process there, as in any democratic nation. To suggest the growth of the Tel Aviv Gay Pride parades is some kind of conspiracy theory to cover up the obvious faults that Israel does have is simply STUPID. The Gay Pride event movement is part of an INTERNATIONAL movement and as Israel is an open enough nation to allow it to happen (unlike the rest of the middle east) it happens, since 1998, and indeed gets more and more popular. Not a conspiracy theory. A Gay Pride event, one of so many that happens all over the the world.

To add, proactively, yes OF COURSE, some of the Israeli GLBT people are Arabs, not Jews, as Israel includes about 20 percent Arabs in the population. My impression is that the majority of GLBT Israeli Arabs are happy with their Arab Israeli status. That's not to suggest that they or any other demographic of Israeli wouldn't be critical of some or many government policies.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Jingthing

[Morch]

Nothing against Gay Pride Week or Gay Parades at all. I support them because I hate all forms of bullying.

Other repressive racist regimes in history have used the Olympics and sport to make themselves appear legitimate, internationally acceptable, and normal.

Israel is using Gay Pride Week to do the same: paint itself in a favorable light as great humanists, when less than an hour's drive away from Tel Aviv everything is anything but normal as Israel denies basic human rights to millions of Palestinians.

"They forget to mention that the gay soldiers you dance with in the pride parade check, arrest and kill Palestinians on a daily basis".

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/video-tel-aviv-pride-cant-pinkwash-israels-crimes

With reference to LGBT rights Israel is light years ahead of its neighbors. The refusal to acknowledge that is childish.

Rejecting any positive remark on Israel is just another manifestation of a black and white world view.

The obligatory vile Nazi reference is dully noted. Guess some can't help themselves go overboard.

An hour's drive away from Tel Aviv, such parades are not acceptable and exhibiting much milder expressions of one's sexuality might end in death.

As for the comment on soldiers - hyperbole. Doubt that that the author (or for that matter, yourself) got a definitive idea as to these soldiers role in the IDF. I think most of those serving in relevant units would be reluctant to publicly expose their sexual preferences.

[Jingthing]

Yes, my impression is that it's often very difficult to be an out IDF soldier. GLBT civil rights in Israel are pretty good relative to international standards, and INCREDIBLY GOOD relative to the Middle East, but overall as in pretty much all nations, a continuing struggle.

[Morch]

Just another PR diversion tactic from the Israeli government. The whole event is sponsored with Israeli government funds. The same government that funds the illegal occupation and settlements in Palestine.

In times that (another) French peace initiative has been planned, a soldier should be tried for murder in exection style, the in-house Knesset political rivalities,...no surprise at all...they did the same in Paris by organizing 'Tel-Aviv Sur-Seine' to focus on PR strategies...instead of all the international law crimes.

Let's not forget that the so called 'Palestinian knife intifada' started 'suddenly' after a solo extremist stabbed multiple LGBT paraders in Jerusalem.

OP is also another attempt to falsely promote freedom of diversity.

The OP is a PR attempt to misrepresent facts. The reality being a mass event, the alternative version giving center stage and highlighting minor dissenting views.

And obviously, no issues with posting nonsense diversions as well - the event was declared before the French peace initiative was on the cards. It is an annual event, whereas the French effort was an ad hoc one. Same goes for tying the event with current domestic political rivalries - event had nothing to do with these.

And let us not forget another nonsense attempt to hint at conspiracy - implying a connection between the stabbing at the Jerusalem LGBT parade and the "Palestinian knife intifada". Just to put "suddenly" in perspective, the former was July 2015, the beginning of the current wave of Palestinian violence usually references September 2015. As far as I am aware, no credible interpretation ties between the two.

I can understand and support criticisms of Israeli government policies as towards any nation with flaws.

But the Gay Pride events in Tel Aviv are a very positive thing.

Only the obsessive Israel demonization agenda (and also of course general anti-GLBT civil rights forces that hate any Gay Pride events anywhere in the world) would try to throw dirt on it.

To the Israel demonization agenda, if it's in Israel and it's not something that demonizes or shows Israel in a bad light, it's worthy of attack.

The GLBT civil rights situation in Israel which is pretty good benefits not only Israel Jews but Israeli Arabs as well, and there is also the thorny issue of oppressed GLBT Palestinians seeking asylum in Israel, at least as a step in migrating elsewhere.

It's my impression that Israel doesn't treat such asylum seekers very well ... so there's a case of normal criticism.

To add, recently there was the FIRST Miss TRANS Israel pageant and the winner was an Arab trans woman. To the obsessive Israel demonization agenda, that would likely be seen as an elaborate "pinkwashing" conspiracy theory. Never mind what really happened ... the BEST trans woman contestant won regardless of ethnicity.

Frankly, I would hope that the Israel demonization agenda would take a BREAK once in a blue moon. Something like, yeah we hate Israel, don't think it should have ever existed and dream of the day that it doesn't exist, but heck, congratulations on some great Gay Pride events anyway. Talk about a dream!

The critizism is coming from the Israeli GLBT community.

Most of the references relate criticism expressed by foreign based organizations, or those more affiliated with Palestinian/Arab activists. Considering the mass participation in the event, the voices of dissension from within the Israeli GLBT community are relativity minor. Some of the alleged criticism referenced by the Israeli GLBT community was hijacked as well - it had to do more with allocation of government funds to causes and projects deemed more relevant to the community's welfare (vs. promoting the parade).

[dexterm]

Nothing against Gay Pride Week or Gay Parades at all. I support them because I hate all forms of bullying.

Other repressive racist regimes in history have used the Olympics and sport to make themselves appear legitimate, internationally acceptable, and normal.

Israel is using Gay Pride Week to do the same: paint itself in a favorable light as great humanists, when less than an hour's drive away from Tel Aviv everything is anything but normal as Israel denies basic human rights to millions of Palestinians.

"They forget to mention that the gay soldiers you dance with in the pride parade check, arrest and kill Palestinians on a daily basis".

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/video-tel-aviv-pride-cant-pinkwash-israels-crimes

With reference to LGBT rights Israel is light years ahead of its neighbors. The refusal to acknowledge that is childish.

Rejecting any positive remark on Israel is just another manifestation of a black and white world view.

The obligatory vile Nazi reference is dully noted. Guess some can't help themselves go overboard.

An hour's drive away from Tel Aviv, such parades are not acceptable and exhibiting much milder expressions of one's sexuality might end in death.

As for the comment on soldiers - hyperbole. Doubt that that the author (or for that matter, yourself) got a definitive idea as to these soldiers role in the IDF. I think most of those serving in relevant units would be reluctant to publicly expose their sexual preferences.

>>With reference to LGBT rights Israel is light years ahead of its neighbors. The refusal to acknowledge that is childish.

Never refused to acknowledge anything. Please quote where I did so or as usual are you making it up?

>>An hour's drive away from Tel Aviv, such parades are not acceptable and exhibiting much milder expressions of one's sexuality might end in death.

... the PA does not have any anti same sex relationship legislation.

>>As for the comment on soldiers - hyperbole. Doubt that that the author (or for that matter, yourself) got a definitive idea as to these soldiers role in the IDF. I think most of those serving in relevant units would be reluctant to publicly expose their sexual preferences.

..well, that's a damning indictment. Israel is proud and hypocritical enough to hold a Gay Pride Week, but woe betide any IDF soldier who displays his/her sexual preference in their unit.

The other main evidence of hypocrisy in the Israeli government's pinkwashing sponsorship of the Gay Pride week is the virulent homophobic stance of its main religious/ultra nationalistc right wing partners who abhor homosexuality.

"This is not to say that Israel is fully accepting of LGBT individuals. People like Bayit Yehudi Knesset member Bezelel Smotrich, who represents a large swath of the religious Zionist community, have referred to the Gay Pride Parade as a blasphemy that defiles the holy city.

Over the past decade Smotrich and others – both religious Zionists and haredim – have staged a “parade of animals” near the Knesset in Jerusalem which compares homosexuality to bestiality."

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Gay-freedoms-455484

Notwithstanding the fact that Israel now draws a large part of its support in N America from Evangelical Christian groups who also detest homosexuality. Strange bedfellows.

I leave it to the Israel National LGBT Task Force, Agudah, for the final word on pinkwashing as they question the Israeli government's plan to invest NIS 11 million (almost $3 million) in encouraging tourism including plans to paint an airplane flying tourists for the parade to Israel with the rainbow colors of the gay community.

"Agudah co-chair Imri Kalman said that Israel is lagging behind other Western countries in terms of gay rights.

“Unlike the gay communities around the world who achieved historic achievements, the gay community of Israel had one of its worse years,” he said. “Murder at the Jerusalem parade, many bills did not make it past the ministerial committee [for legislation] and the plenum, violence and inciting comments from MKs and a government minister.”

http://www.timesofisrael.com/gay-groups-irked-at-tourism-ministry-spin-on-pride-parade/

Edited June 5, 2016 by dexterm

[Mudcrab]

The thing is any city the size of Tel Aviv that has established itself as an urban gay mecca is probably going to have gay pride events these days. They vary, not always parades, for example Bangkok Thais never got into parades, but there are still gay pride related events in Bangkok. The "pinkwashing" BS attack presumes the advances for gay freedom including for Israeli Arabs aren't real. That it's just for show. But they are real. So the pinkwash critics seem to be suggesting that Israeli GLBT shouldn't celebrate normally as in any other nation. Having a parade isn't a statement that everything is perfect in society any more than it would be for a parade in Mexico.

GLBT Israelis don't enjoy full legal equality ... but in the context of the globe, especially the Middle East, they're batting way over average.

To add, Gay Pride events are also held in nations where GLBT people are severely oppressed and the participants are risking their careers and sometimes their lives. That's how it is these days. Sometimes all about the party. Often a mix of the party plus GLBT civil rights political protest. And sometimes pretty much all political GLBT civil rights protest.

I read there was a historic recent public protest in Lebanon for GLBT civil rights. They aren't even at the level where they could have a parade that would risk their lives there, but it's a start. Give them 100 years or so.

In the context of Israel, Israelis are free to have public protests about Palestinian conflict issues. There is no reason why that should be part of Gay Pride events though.

Good to see the ladyboys have your full support

[Mudcrab]

The thing is any city the size of Tel Aviv that has established itself as an urban gay mecca is probably going to have gay pride events these days. They vary, not always parades, for example Bangkok Thais never got into parades, but there are still gay pride related events in Bangkok. The "pinkwashing" BS attack presumes the advances for gay freedom including for Israeli Arabs aren't real. That it's just for show. But they are real. So the pinkwash critics seem to be suggesting that Israeli GLBT shouldn't celebrate normally as in any other nation. Having a parade isn't a statement that everything is perfect in society any more than it would be for a parade in Mexico.

GLBT Israelis don't enjoy full legal equality ... but in the context of the globe, especially the Middle East, they're batting way over average.

To add, Gay Pride events are also held in nations where GLBT people are severely oppressed and the participants are risking their careers and sometimes their lives. That's how it is these days. Sometimes all about the party. Often a mix of the party plus GLBT civil rights political protest. And sometimes pretty much all political GLBT civil rights protest.

I read there was a historic recent public protest in Lebanon for GLBT civil rights. They aren't even at the level where they could have a parade that would risk their lives there, but it's a start. Give them 100 years or so.

In the context of Israel, Israelis are free to have public protests about Palestinian conflict issues. There is no reason why that should be part of Gay Pride events though.

Good to see the Ladyboys have your full support

[Morch]

Nothing against Gay Pride Week or Gay Parades at all. I support them because I hate all forms of bullying.

Other repressive racist regimes in history have used the Olympics and sport to make themselves appear legitimate, internationally acceptable, and normal.

Israel is using Gay Pride Week to do the same: paint itself in a favorable light as great humanists, when less than an hour's drive away from Tel Aviv everything is anything but normal as Israel denies basic human rights to millions of Palestinians.

"They forget to mention that the gay soldiers you dance with in the pride parade check, arrest and kill Palestinians on a daily basis".

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/video-tel-aviv-pride-cant-pinkwash-israels-crimes

With reference to LGBT rights Israel is light years ahead of its neighbors. The refusal to acknowledge that is childish.

Rejecting any positive remark on Israel is just another manifestation of a black and white world view.

The obligatory vile Nazi reference is dully noted. Guess some can't help themselves go overboard.

An hour's drive away from Tel Aviv, such parades are not acceptable and exhibiting much milder expressions of one's sexuality might end in death.

As for the comment on soldiers - hyperbole. Doubt that that the author (or for that matter, yourself) got a definitive idea as to these soldiers role in the IDF. I think most of those serving in relevant units would be reluctant to publicly expose their sexual preferences.

>>With reference to LGBT rights Israel is light years ahead of its neighbors. The refusal to acknowledge that is childish.

Never refused to acknowledge anything. Please quote where I did so or as usual are you making it up?

>>An hour's drive away from Tel Aviv, such parades are not acceptable and exhibiting much milder expressions of one's sexuality might end in death.

... the PA does not have any anti same sex relationship legislation.

>>As for the comment on soldiers - hyperbole. Doubt that that the author (or for that matter, yourself) got a definitive idea as to these soldiers role in the IDF. I think most of those serving in relevant units would be reluctant to publicly expose their sexual preferences.

..well, that's a damning indictment. Israel is proud and hypocritical enough to hold a Gay Pride Week, but woe betide any IDF soldier who displays his/her sexual preference in their unit.

The other main evidence of hypocrisy in the Israeli government's pinkwashing sponsorship of the Gay Pride week is the virulent homophobic stance of its main religious/ultra nationalistc right wing partners who abhor homosexuality.

"This is not to say that Israel is fully accepting of LGBT individuals. People like Bayit Yehudi Knesset member Bezelel Smotrich, who represents a large swath of the religious Zionist community, have referred to the Gay Pride Parade as a blasphemy that defiles the holy city.

Over the past decade Smotrich and others – both religious Zionists and haredim – have staged a “parade of animals” near the Knesset in Jerusalem which compares homosexuality to bestiality."

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Gay-freedoms-455484

Notithstanding the fact that Israel now draws a large part of its support in N America from Evangelical Christian groups who also detest homosexuality. Strange bedfellows.

I leave it to the Israel National LGBT Task Force, Agudah, for the final word on pinkwashing as they question the Israeli government's plan to invest NIS 11 million (almost $3 million) in encouraging tourism including plans to paint an airplane flying tourists for the parade to Israel with the rainbow colors of the gay community.

"Agudah co-chair Imri Kalman said that Israel is lagging behind other Western countries in terms of gay rights.

“Unlike the gay communities around the world who achieved historic achievements, the gay community of Israel had one of its worse years,” he said. “Murder at the Jerusalem parade, many bills did not make it past the ministerial committee [for legislation] and the plenum, violence and inciting comments from MKs and a government minister.”

http://www.timesofisrael.com/gay-groups-irked-at-tourism-ministry-spin-on-pride-parade/

Pffft...you'll have to to better than that. I do not make up anything, and you're providing further example with the rest of your post.

"The PA does not have any anti same sex relationship legislation" - hard to tell if making this statement while whinging about pink-washing implies ignorance or is simply a failed deflection attempt. I do not believe similar parades being an option, nor is the option to openly complain about how things are readily available. Of course, when its inconvenient, the Gaza Strip is ignored - wouldn't do to bring up Hamas policies on the matter.

Hamas Commander, Accused of Theft and Gay Sex, Is Killed by His Own

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/02/world/middleeast/hamas-commander-mahmoud-ishtiwi-killed-palestine.html?_r=0

Gay relative of Hamas founders faces deportation from Canada Christian convert, 24, whose five uncles were jailed in Israel for terror activity, says he’ll be killed if forced to return to West Bank

http://www.timesofisrael.com/gay-relative-of-hamas-founder-faces-deportation-from-canada/

Persecution of Homosexuals (Palestinian Authority area)

https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Persecution_of_Homosexuals_%28Palestinian_Authority_area%29

Re comment on soldiers - a "damning indictment" in your imagination, perhaps. Most active duty fighting units are kinda same, all over the world. no great tolerance for such expressions. Not a specifically Israeli thing there. As to the dramatic addition of "woe betide..." not part of my post, and no idea where you got it from. But do go on about making things up... Another clumsy deflection of the point made - that not all soldiers participating are engaged in harassment of Palestinians as claimed.

I did not anywhere claim that the situation of GLBT rights in Israel is perfect, that all Israelis are in favor or that many on the political right and orthodox Jewish parties aren't opposed (interestingly enough, neglected to relate the stance of Israeli Arab politicians, guess inconvenient). And yet, there are such public events, which are not an option anywhere in the Middle East. Seems like yet another instance of your usual nonsense position - if Israel does not fully conform with an ideal, it must be reviled. So once again, Israel is not perfect on GLBT rights, but its far from the worst.

Your last link does not have anything to do with the Palestinian issue, and was addressed in previous posts. More to do with allocation of government budgets. Another poor attempt to hijack an loosely related story and harness it to the propaganda wagon.

[Jingthing]

Having Gay Pride parades is in no way indicative that the nations they are held in have 100 percent perfect GLBT civil rights situations. Or even good situations at all. In fact in some nations they are held, the participants are risking their lives. In many nations, these events aren't possible to have at all. For now, all of the middle east except for ISRAEL.

As I stated before, the ORIGIN of the Gay Pride parade movement was in response to anti-gay oppression and laws.

Tel Aviv of course, is a more liberal secular great city of Israel so it's a natural for a more BIG PARTY type of Gay Pride parade.

As with any long term CIVIL RIGHTS movement, it's never a straight line towards progress. There are victories and setbacks. But I still think the overall GLBT civil rights situation in Israel relative to the entire world is pretty good with obvious room for improvement.

Compare to Gaza -- do they give a choice for method of execution? I reckon not.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Jingthing

[dexterm]

Some of the Israeli apologists on this forum clearly demonstrate exactly what pinkwashing is: holding up Israel as the great beacon of tolerance in order to vilify other countries and religions (juxtaposing rainbow flags and mosques), in the hope that we won't notice the huge elephant in the room .... 4.5 million Palestinians under a brutal occupation.

I think Gay Pride Week is wonderful. People who have been so persecuted for their natural sexual preferences can stand up and be counted.

It's using the event for propaganda purposes as the Israeli government and some of the Israeli apologists on this forum are doing, that I object to.

Edited June 6, 2016 by dexterm

[JingerBen]

Some of the Israeli apologists on this forum clearly demonstrate exactly what pinkwashing is: holding up Israel as the great beacon of tolerance in order to vilify other countries and religions (juxtaposing rainbow flags and mosques), in the hope that we won't notice the huge elephant in the room .... 4.5 million Palestinians under a brutal occupation.

I think Gay Pride Week is wonderful. People who have been so persecuted for their natural sexual preferences can stand up and be counted.

It's using the event for propaganda purposes as the Israeli government and some of the Israeli apologists on this forum are doing, that I object to.

That sums it up very well and makes all the spin sound like gibberish.

[Galactus]

Israel can't win.

Have a pride parade, it's pinkwashing.

Don't have a pride parade, you're just like the rest of the Middle East where gays are murdered for being gay.

To hell with that! Have the parades!

Tel Aviv is indeed among the greatest urban gay meccas in the world today.

That is not fake propaganda.

It's real.

The rest of Israel ... not so much. So gays flock to Tel Aviv like American gays used to flock to San Francisco and New York but now no longer really need to.

Tel Aviv scene ... rainbow flags and mosque. Find that elsewhere in the Middle East ... you can't:

mosque-rainbow-flag.jpg

you can find rainbow flags next to mosques in Turkey. Some find Israel superior in Middle East i guess. I believe it is a good idea to boycott Gay Pride in Israel as Israeli human rights record is sweeping the ground at North Korea levels.

Funny to celebrate sexual preferences there (one needs to be a human first to be a gay or lesbian whatever) while many injudiciously dying under the hands of Israel, not to mention state pressure for Jewish people asking for peace.

Most good Jewish friends of mine say, no freedom of speech and if you talk against army or about peace, you get into trouble.

And most important of all, this is what Torah wants for homosexuals, a bloody death! so, please do not only accuse muslim but accuse other religions too. All bloody against LBGT individuals:

Lev. 20:13 "And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed a detestable act: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."

There were some clashes with police in Gay Pride in Istanbul still...:

Edited June 6, 2016 by Galactus

[Morch]

Some of the Israeli apologists on this forum clearly demonstrate exactly what pinkwashing is: holding up Israel as the great beacon of tolerance in order to vilify other countries and religions (juxtaposing rainbow flags and mosques), in the hope that we won't notice the huge elephant in the room .... 4.5 million Palestinians under a brutal occupation.

I think Gay Pride Week is wonderful. People who have been so persecuted for their natural sexual preferences can stand up and be counted.

It's using the event for propaganda purposes as the Israeli government and some of the Israeli apologists on this forum are doing, that I object to.

"Apologists", the default fallback when arguments cannot be defended. Coming from anyone else, it might have carried a bit more substance. Hurled by someone having trouble acknowledging any Palestinian wrongdoing, and finding it all to easy to justify such wrongs - it is simply ridiculous, not to mention hypocritical. Also, given that anyone not fully subscribing to your twisted views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is deemed an "apologist", it is essentially a position seeking to stifle discussion.

The posts are there for all to read, Israel is not presented as a "great beacon of tolerance", it is merely asserted that it exhibits a reasonable (not perfect) state of GLBT rights. Further, the point is not made "in order to vilify other countries and religions" - saying that the state of GLBT rights in Israel is better than other places in the Middle East is a fact. Good luck finding a credible source contradicting it.

As stated earlier, one can acknowledge the state of GLBT rights in Israel, and at the same time object to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinians. Insisting that the two are mutually exclusive is yet another hallmark of a narrow point of view. At least on this forum, the ones using it for propaganda purposes are those often found bashing Israel - the post above serving as yet another excellent example.

[Jingthing]

It's really annoying. Israel can't do anything totally normal like having the biggest gay pride events in Asia without the party pooper hate on Israel for everything all the time no matter what brigades get all up in their incredibly handsome Hebronic faces! Really -- to hell with the haters. Find something more worthy to protest about. Shouldn't be hard.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Jingthing

[Morch]

@Galactus

So, praising such parades in Turkey is alright, and in no way constitutes "pink washing" the government's policies with regard to Kurds, other civil rights and dissenters in general?

Comparing Israel with North Korea is pretty much out there, and just puts the rest of your rant in proper perspective.

The point being made is that two things could be upheld simultaneously - celebrating GLBT rights in Israel, and objecting to Israeli policies vs. the Palestinians. One does not necessarily negate the other.

As for your imaginary Jewish friends - just another poor trolling attempt. Talking against IDF actions, against the Israeli occupation and expressing pro-peace views are easily quoted daily on mainstream media channels, not to mention social media etc.

There is no death penalty in for being gay in Israel, irrelevant of what's written the bible and what some extremists might wish. Your whole point kinda defeats itself considering the OP deals with a mass event.

LGBT rights in Turkey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Turkey

Turkish police fire pepper spray at gay pride parade

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/28/world/turkey-pride-parade-lgbt-violence/

[Jingthing]

Brave of the gay Turks to try though! That's the original spirit of the gay pride movement in action today in many countries.

[dexterm]

Some of the Israeli apologists on this forum clearly demonstrate exactly what pinkwashing is: holding up Israel as the great beacon of tolerance in order to vilify other countries and religions (juxtaposing rainbow flags and mosques), in the hope that we won't notice the huge elephant in the room .... 4.5 million Palestinians under a brutal occupation.

I think Gay Pride Week is wonderful. People who have been so persecuted for their natural sexual preferences can stand up and be counted.

It's using the event for propaganda purposes as the Israeli government and some of the Israeli apologists on this forum are doing, that I object to.

"Apologists", the default fallback when arguments cannot be defended. Coming from anyone else, it might have carried a bit more substance. Hurled by someone having trouble acknowledging any Palestinian wrongdoing, and finding it all to easy to justify such wrongs - it is simply ridiculous, not to mention hypocritical. Also, given that anyone not fully subscribing to your twisted views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is deemed an "apologist", it is essentially a position seeking to stifle discussion.

The posts are there for all to read, Israel is not presented as a "great beacon of tolerance", it is merely asserted that it exhibits a reasonable (not perfect) state of GLBT rights. Further, the point is not made "in order to vilify other countries and religions" - saying that the state of GLBT rights in Israel is better than other places in the Middle East is a fact. Good luck finding a credible source contradicting it.

As stated earlier, one can acknowledge the state of GLBT rights in Israel, and at the same time object to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinians. Insisting that the two are mutually exclusive is yet another hallmark of a narrow point of view. At least on this forum, the ones using it for propaganda purposes are those often found bashing Israel - the post above serving as yet another excellent example.

Posters who attempt to justify the racist supremacist principle of Zionism such as yourself are Israeli apologists ...period.

I haven't heard any valid counter arguments so nothing to defend.

Nothing twisted about my views on the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Zionists are the foreign interlopers, colonists, agressors and occupiers. A view held by the majority of countries globally.

As I said earlier: to hold a Gay Pride Week in Israel is admirable. No problem. It is the hijacking of it for propaganda purposes, as pointed out by the OP Israeli GLBT group: the government wanted to spend an inordinate amount of money including even rainbow painted airplanes to attract tourists: Come, enjoy, have fun, forget the occupation to showcase the event to appear more acceptable to the world while neglecting GLBT issues at home and of course the huge injustice they are perpetrating daily against Palestininians. Some TV posters couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon to do a spot of Muslim bashing. All pinkwashing. The news item would have passed uncommented upon by me but for that.

Edited June 6, 2016 by dexterm

[Morch]

Some of the Israeli apologists on this forum clearly demonstrate exactly what pinkwashing is: holding up Israel as the great beacon of tolerance in order to vilify other countries and religions (juxtaposing rainbow flags and mosques), in the hope that we won't notice the huge elephant in the room .... 4.5 million Palestinians under a brutal occupation.

I think Gay Pride Week is wonderful. People who have been so persecuted for their natural sexual preferences can stand up and be counted.

It's using the event for propaganda purposes as the Israeli government and some of the Israeli apologists on this forum are doing, that I object to.

"Apologists", the default fallback when arguments cannot be defended. Coming from anyone else, it might have carried a bit more substance. Hurled by someone having trouble acknowledging any Palestinian wrongdoing, and finding it all to easy to justify such wrongs - it is simply ridiculous, not to mention hypocritical. Also, given that anyone not fully subscribing to your twisted views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is deemed an "apologist", it is essentially a position seeking to stifle discussion.

The posts are there for all to read, Israel is not presented as a "great beacon of tolerance", it is merely asserted that it exhibits a reasonable (not perfect) state of GLBT rights. Further, the point is not made "in order to vilify other countries and religions" - saying that the state of GLBT rights in Israel is better than other places in the Middle East is a fact. Good luck finding a credible source contradicting it.

As stated earlier, one can acknowledge the state of GLBT rights in Israel, and at the same time object to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinians. Insisting that the two are mutually exclusive is yet another hallmark of a narrow point of view. At least on this forum, the ones using it for propaganda purposes are those often found bashing Israel - the post above serving as yet another excellent example.

Posters who attempt to justify the racist supremacist principle of Zionism such as yourself are Israeli apologists ...period.

I haven't heard any valid counter arguments so nothing to defend.

Nothing twisted about my views on the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Zionists are the foreign interlopers, colonists, agressors and occupiers. A view held by the majority of countries globally.

As I said earlier: to hold a Gay Pride Week in Israel is admirable. No problem. It is the hijacking of it for propaganda purposes, as pointed out by the OP Israeli GLBT group: the government wanted to spend an inordinate amount of money including even rainbow painted airplanes to attract tourists: Come, enjoy, have fun, forget the occupation to showcase the event to appear more acceptable to the world while neglecting GLBT issues at home and of course the huge injustice they are perpetrating daily against Palestininians. Some TV posters couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon to do a spot of Muslim bashing. All pinkwashing. The news item would have passed uncommented upon by me but for that.

Nope. You reject any view which does not FULLY conform to your own. Apparently, one is an "apologist" if not denouncing anything to do with Israel, not engaging in your own inflammatory rhetoric, and does not wholly buy into the one sided misrepresentation of the conflict. That's pretty much as stifling discussion position as they come. Again, coming form someone unable to objectively relate to any wrongdoing and willing to justify pretty much everything on the Palestinian side, its pretty much a hollow word.

Read the topic again, each and every claim you made was countered. That includes the bits of made up nonsense and twisted words.

As for hijacking for propaganda purposes - the faults of the OP were detailed in previous posts. Essentially it conflates two groups with different agendas. The one raising the Palestinian issue is mostly foreign, the one with complaints about government fund allocation is Israeli. Repeating (and varnishing) the OP's version is nothing more than a desperate attempt to muddy the waters.

The event itself incorporated little by way of glorifying Israel, and considering the massive participation, it would seem that hijacking for agenda purposes is more obvious when it comes to the OP and your posts. The OP turns a minor dissenting view into the main issue, and like yourself, chooses to ignore critical, yet moderate, voices, in favor of fanning the flames. No surprises on either front.

"Some TV posters couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon to do a spot of Muslim bashing. All pinkwashing. The news item would have passed uncommented upon by me but for that."

Pull the other one. You charged right in with the OP's tag line and the usual Israel bashing. Playing protector of Islam came when this didn't go as smoothly as expected. And no, pointing out the poor state of GLBT rights in the Middle East, and Israel being quite an exception is not Muslim bashing, but facts and reality. But then again, seems that as far as you're concerned, anything which somehow paints Israel as other evil is would be pick-a-color-washing.

[BB24]

I reckon those of us who have the misfortune not to be LGBT should start to organise a few parades of our own to balance things up. Otherwise, the way things are going, heterosexuals could end up a more endangered species than Thai tigers.

I demand the right to being treated equally in law and to be treated the same as everyone else in society - fair enough - yes.

And I want to march down the road with my friends and parade my individuality and my pride in being different - pardon?

I want to be the same and I want to march (with pride) about my difference - huh??

I never got the 'march with pride' khrapp and I guess I never will - whether in Isreal or Gaza - makes no sense to me.

I don't know what country you live in, but if you're in the west, or advanced nations like Israel, etc. you are certainly at liberty to organize political protests or parades for anything you like.

But you know, heterosexual people are the vast majority in every country in the world, so pretty much ANY parade is already a heterosexual parade.

The historical original of the Gay Pride parade movement was in reaction to the police raids on the Stonewall Inn in New York. The first pride parades were all about resisting social oppression and anti gay laws. This tradition continues in many nations today where GLBT people are still severely oppressed by their societies. Somehow I don't think heterosexual people have those kinds of issues in any nation.

I think you have an 'agenda' too. But putting that aside, I will just say in response that I agree with you - but that there has never been anyone more 'oppressed' than black people - but I dont see them marching in events all over the world now - either about their 'differences' or about their hard fought for rights. And there are many other groups of people, who over the years have also fought for and gained their rights - be they either of minority skin colour, sexual preference, disability, age, or religion - or indeed are female - but I dont see them marching in 'celebration' or in 'pride'. It is time the LGBT community started to realise that it is time to move on - otherwise the majority of people over time will see them as being pretentious (as I do) - the main fight has been won Certainly there is further to go for many minorities previously overtly dicriminated against - especially women and blacks. But the time has come for the LGBTs to do as the others have all done - stop marching the streets as the 'main' battle for equality has been won - further 'reforms' should be gained by doing what the others all do - address the issues through social discourse and political pressure.

Edited June 6, 2016 by BB24

[Jingthing]

I reckon those of us who have the misfortune not to be LGBT should start to organise a few parades of our own to balance things up. Otherwise, the way things are going, heterosexuals could end up a more endangered species than Thai tigers.

I demand the right to being treated equally in law and to be treated the same as everyone else in society - fair enough - yes.

And I want to march down the road with my friends and parade my individuality and my pride in being different - pardon?

I want to be the same and I want to march (with pride) about my difference - huh??

I never got the 'march with pride' khrapp and I guess I never will - whether in Isreal or Gaza - makes no sense to me.

I don't know what country you live in, but if you're in the west, or advanced nations like Israel, etc. you are certainly at liberty to organize political protests or parades for anything you like.

But you know, heterosexual people are the vast majority in every country in the world, so pretty much ANY parade is already a heterosexual parade.

The historical original of the Gay Pride parade movement was in reaction to the police raids on the Stonewall Inn in New York. The first pride parades were all about resisting social oppression and anti gay laws. This tradition continues in many nations today where GLBT people are still severely oppressed by their societies. Somehow I don't think heterosexual people have those kinds of issues in any nation.

I think you have an 'agenda' too. But putting that aside, I will just say in response that I agree with you - but that there has never been anyone more 'oppressed' than black people - but I dont see them marching in events all over the world now - either about their 'differences' or about their hard fought for rights. And there are many other groups of people, who over the years have also fought for and gained their rights - be they either of minority skin colour, sexual preference, disability, age, or religion - or indeed are female - but I dont see them marching in 'celebration' or in 'pride'. It is time the LGBT community started to realise that it is time to move on - otherwise the majority of people over time will see them as being pretentious (as I do) - the main fight has been won Certainly there is further to go for many minorities previously overtly dicriminated against - especially women and blacks. But the time has come for the LGBTs to do as the others have all done - stop marching the streets as the 'main' battle for equality has been won - further 'reforms' should be gained by doing what the others all do - address the issues through social discourse and political pressure.

Thanks for sharing your personal feelings, maybe if you really want to get into all that you can start a topic on the GAY forum, but the topic here is really about the Gay Pride events in Tel Aviv and the accusation that they are a thing called pink washing. Such events are now held in a plethora of places all over the world, in some places where the GLBT civil rights situation is very good and in other places where it's really, really bad, but oddly no country but the Jewish state of ISRAEL gets the absurd charge of pink washing for having these events in their nation.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Jingthing

[dexterm]

Some of the Israeli apologists on this forum clearly demonstrate exactly what pinkwashing is: holding up Israel as the great beacon of tolerance in order to vilify other countries and religions (juxtaposing rainbow flags and mosques), in the hope that we won't notice the huge elephant in the room .... 4.5 million Palestinians under a brutal occupation.

I think Gay Pride Week is wonderful. People who have been so persecuted for their natural sexual preferences can stand up and be counted.

It's using the event for propaganda purposes as the Israeli government and some of the Israeli apologists on this forum are doing, that I object to.

"Apologists", the default fallback when arguments cannot be defended. Coming from anyone else, it might have carried a bit more substance. Hurled by someone having trouble acknowledging any Palestinian wrongdoing, and finding it all to easy to justify such wrongs - it is simply ridiculous, not to mention hypocritical. Also, given that anyone not fully subscribing to your twisted views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is deemed an "apologist", it is essentially a position seeking to stifle discussion.

The posts are there for all to read, Israel is not presented as a "great beacon of tolerance", it is merely asserted that it exhibits a reasonable (not perfect) state of GLBT rights. Further, the point is not made "in order to vilify other countries and religions" - saying that the state of GLBT rights in Israel is better than other places in the Middle East is a fact. Good luck finding a credible source contradicting it.

As stated earlier, one can acknowledge the state of GLBT rights in Israel, and at the same time object to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinians. Insisting that the two are mutually exclusive is yet another hallmark of a narrow point of view. At least on this forum, the ones using it for propaganda purposes are those often found bashing Israel - the post above serving as yet another excellent example.

Posters who attempt to justify the racist supremacist principle of Zionism such as yourself are Israeli apologists ...period.

I haven't heard any valid counter arguments so nothing to defend.

Nothing twisted about my views on the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Zionists are the foreign interlopers, colonists, agressors and occupiers. A view held by the majority of countries globally.

As I said earlier: to hold a Gay Pride Week in Israel is admirable. No problem. It is the hijacking of it for propaganda purposes, as pointed out by the OP Israeli GLBT group: the government wanted to spend an inordinate amount of money including even rainbow painted airplanes to attract tourists: Come, enjoy, have fun, forget the occupation to showcase the event to appear more acceptable to the world while neglecting GLBT issues at home and of course the huge injustice they are perpetrating daily against Palestininians. Some TV posters couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon to do a spot of Muslim bashing. All pinkwashing. The news item would have passed uncommented upon by me but for that.

Nope. You reject any view which does not FULLY conform to your own. Apparently, one is an "apologist" if not denouncing anything to do with Israel, not engaging in your own inflammatory rhetoric, and does not wholly buy into the one sided misrepresentation of the conflict. That's pretty much as stifling discussion position as they come. Again, coming form someone unable to objectively relate to any wrongdoing and willing to justify pretty much everything on the Palestinian side, its pretty much a hollow word.

Read the topic again, each and every claim you made was countered. That includes the bits of made up nonsense and twisted words.

As for hijacking for propaganda purposes - the faults of the OP were detailed in previous posts. Essentially it conflates two groups with different agendas. The one raising the Palestinian issue is mostly foreign, the one with complaints about government fund allocation is Israeli. Repeating (and varnishing) the OP's version is nothing more than a desperate attempt to muddy the waters.

The event itself incorporated little by way of glorifying Israel, and considering the massive participation, it would seem that hijacking for agenda purposes is more obvious when it comes to the OP and your posts. The OP turns a minor dissenting view into the main issue, and like yourself, chooses to ignore critical, yet moderate, voices, in favor of fanning the flames. No surprises on either front.

"Some TV posters couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon to do a spot of Muslim bashing. All pinkwashing. The news item would have passed uncommented upon by me but for that."

Pull the other one. You charged right in with the OP's tag line and the usual Israel bashing. Playing protector of Islam came when this didn't go as smoothly as expected. And no, pointing out the poor state of GLBT rights in the Middle East, and Israel being quite an exception is not Muslim bashing, but facts and reality. But then again, seems that as far as you're concerned, anything which somehow paints Israel as other evil is would be pick-a-color-washing.

I have my views; you have yours. I think that's why it's called a public forum.

I did not enter the discussion until post #13, only after Israeli apologists started indulging in their own form of pinkwashing in posts 4,5,8,9,10,12.

[dexterm]

Jingthing wrote..

Thanks for sharing your personal feelings, maybe if you really want to get into all that you can start a topic on the GAY forum, but the topic here is really about the Gay Pride events in Tel Aviv and the accusation that they are a thing called pink washing. Such events are now held in a plethora of places all over the world, in some places where the GLBT civil rights situation is very good and in other places where it's really, really bad, but oddly no country but the Jewish state of ISRAEL gets the absurd charge of pink washing for having these events in their nation.

Other countries that hold Gay Parades to demonstrate freedom [of sexuality] and human rights, are not simultaneously and hypocritically denying freedom and human rights to 4.5 million people under a 60 year illegal brutal occupation.

Other countries that call themselves modern democracies have nothing to hide behind a pinkwash.

Edited June 7, 2016 by dexterm

[Morch]

"Apologists", the default fallback when arguments cannot be defended. Coming from anyone else, it might have carried a bit more substance. Hurled by someone having trouble acknowledging any Palestinian wrongdoing, and finding it all to easy to justify such wrongs - it is simply ridiculous, not to mention hypocritical. Also, given that anyone not fully subscribing to your twisted views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is deemed an "apologist", it is essentially a position seeking to stifle discussion.

The posts are there for all to read, Israel is not presented as a "great beacon of tolerance", it is merely asserted that it exhibits a reasonable (not perfect) state of GLBT rights. Further, the point is not made "in order to vilify other countries and religions" - saying that the state of GLBT rights in Israel is better than other places in the Middle East is a fact. Good luck finding a credible source contradicting it.

As stated earlier, one can acknowledge the state of GLBT rights in Israel, and at the same time object to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinians. Insisting that the two are mutually exclusive is yet another hallmark of a narrow point of view. At least on this forum, the ones using it for propaganda purposes are those often found bashing Israel - the post above serving as yet another excellent example.

Posters who attempt to justify the racist supremacist principle of Zionism such as yourself are Israeli apologists ...period.

I haven't heard any valid counter arguments so nothing to defend.

Nothing twisted about my views on the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Zionists are the foreign interlopers, colonists, agressors and occupiers. A view held by the majority of countries globally.

As I said earlier: to hold a Gay Pride Week in Israel is admirable. No problem. It is the hijacking of it for propaganda purposes, as pointed out by the OP Israeli GLBT group: the government wanted to spend an inordinate amount of money including even rainbow painted airplanes to attract tourists: Come, enjoy, have fun, forget the occupation to showcase the event to appear more acceptable to the world while neglecting GLBT issues at home and of course the huge injustice they are perpetrating daily against Palestininians. Some TV posters couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon to do a spot of Muslim bashing. All pinkwashing. The news item would have passed uncommented upon by me but for that.

Nope. You reject any view which does not FULLY conform to your own. Apparently, one is an "apologist" if not denouncing anything to do with Israel, not engaging in your own inflammatory rhetoric, and does not wholly buy into the one sided misrepresentation of the conflict. That's pretty much as stifling discussion position as they come. Again, coming form someone unable to objectively relate to any wrongdoing and willing to justify pretty much everything on the Palestinian side, its pretty much a hollow word.

Read the topic again, each and every claim you made was countered. That includes the bits of made up nonsense and twisted words.

As for hijacking for propaganda purposes - the faults of the OP were detailed in previous posts. Essentially it conflates two groups with different agendas. The one raising the Palestinian issue is mostly foreign, the one with complaints about government fund allocation is Israeli. Repeating (and varnishing) the OP's version is nothing more than a desperate attempt to muddy the waters.

The event itself incorporated little by way of glorifying Israel, and considering the massive participation, it would seem that hijacking for agenda purposes is more obvious when it comes to the OP and your posts. The OP turns a minor dissenting view into the main issue, and like yourself, chooses to ignore critical, yet moderate, voices, in favor of fanning the flames. No surprises on either front.

"Some TV posters couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon to do a spot of Muslim bashing. All pinkwashing. The news item would have passed uncommented upon by me but for that."

Pull the other one. You charged right in with the OP's tag line and the usual Israel bashing. Playing protector of Islam came when this didn't go as smoothly as expected. And no, pointing out the poor state of GLBT rights in the Middle East, and Israel being quite an exception is not Muslim bashing, but facts and reality. But then again, seems that as far as you're concerned, anything which somehow paints Israel as other evil is would be pick-a-color-washing.

I have my views; you have yours. I think that's why it's called a public forum.

I did not enter the discussion until post #13, only after Israeli apologists started indulging in their own form of pinkwashing in posts 4,5,8,9,10,12.

You are welcome to your views, misguided as I think they are. That is, barring the twisting of facts, other posters views and posts as to fit your own. The more you label posters as "apologists" it becomes clearer that it stands for "people who do not agree with me". But do go on about this being a public forum with each entitled to his own opinions.

Like I said, pull the other one. Pointing out the absurdity of the OP considering the poor state of GLBT rights on any other Middle Eastern country is not pinkwashing but perspective. That these countries are predominantly Muslim is yet another fact.

Edited June 7, 2016 by Morch

[Morch]

Jingthing wrote..

Thanks for sharing your personal feelings, maybe if you really want to get into all that you can start a topic on the GAY forum, but the topic here is really about the Gay Pride events in Tel Aviv and the accusation that they are a thing called pink washing. Such events are now held in a plethora of places all over the world, in some places where the GLBT civil rights situation is very good and in other places where it's really, really bad, but oddly no country but the Jewish state of ISRAEL gets the absurd charge of pink washing for having these events in their nation.

Other countries that hold Gay Parades to demonstrate freedom [of sexuality] and human rights, are not simultaneously and hypocritically denying freedom and human rights to 4.5 million people under a 60 year illegal brutal occupation.

Other countries that call themselves modern democracies have nothing to hide behind a pinkwash.

Most times, it is not a country that holds a Gay Parade, but GLBT communities, municipalities and commercial organizations. Governments promote or support such events to various degrees. The Tel Aviv parade is not an official Israeli government project, and as such it is not held by Israel. I'm quite sure many of those who took part are not government supporters.

There's another example of a country where such parades (albeit smaller scale) are held, Turkey. Does Turkey have a stellar human rights record?

Once more, there is no issue with celebrating GLBT rights in Israel, and at the same time objecting to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinians. Not everything must be an all-or-nothing choice.

[Galactus]

@Galactus

So, praising such parades in Turkey is alright, and in no way constitutes "pink washing" the government's policies with regard to Kurds, other civil rights and dissenters in general?

Comparing Israel with North Korea is pretty much out there, and just puts the rest of your rant in proper perspective.

The point being made is that two things could be upheld simultaneously - celebrating GLBT rights in Israel, and objecting to Israeli policies vs. the Palestinians. One does not necessarily negate the other.

As for your imaginary Jewish friends - just another poor trolling attempt. Talking against IDF actions, against the Israeli occupation and expressing pro-peace views are easily quoted daily on mainstream media channels, not to mention social media etc.

There is no death penalty in for being gay in Israel, irrelevant of what's written the bible and what some extremists might wish. Your whole point kinda defeats itself considering the OP deals with a mass event.

LGBT rights in Turkey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Turkey

Turkish police fire pepper spray at gay pride parade

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/28/world/turkey-pride-parade-lgbt-violence/

i am not saying Turks do everything alright but certainly doing better than Israel. i was just answering jingthing's questions like it is only Israel in middle east to people can celebrate a Gay Pride. Clearly it is not.

and my friends are real but you? an account in a forum. god now who you are.

Israel has no respect on human rights and no justice there. so i can understand people on protecting Gay price celebrations. Bc, you need to be human first to be a gay.

[Morch]

@Galactus

So, praising such parades in Turkey is alright, and in no way constitutes "pink washing" the government's policies with regard to Kurds, other civil rights and dissenters in general?

Comparing Israel with North Korea is pretty much out there, and just puts the rest of your rant in proper perspective.

The point being made is that two things could be upheld simultaneously - celebrating GLBT rights in Israel, and objecting to Israeli policies vs. the Palestinians. One does not necessarily negate the other.

As for your imaginary Jewish friends - just another poor trolling attempt. Talking against IDF actions, against the Israeli occupation and expressing pro-peace views are easily quoted daily on mainstream media channels, not to mention social media etc.

There is no death penalty in for being gay in Israel, irrelevant of what's written the bible and what some extremists might wish. Your whole point kinda defeats itself considering the OP deals with a mass event.

LGBT rights in Turkey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Turkey

Turkish police fire pepper spray at gay pride parade

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/28/world/turkey-pride-parade-lgbt-violence/

i am not saying Turks do everything alright but certainly doing better than Israel. i was just answering jingthing's questions like it is only Israel in middle east to people can celebrate a Gay Pride. Clearly it is not.

and my friends are real but you? an account in a forum. god now who you are.

Israel has no respect on human rights and no justice there. so i can understand people on protecting Gay price celebrations. Bc, you need to be human first to be a gay.

LGBT rights in Turkey are not better than they are in Israel. For one thing, police does not pepper spray participants.

It can be debated whether your friends are imaginary. It is a matter of certainty that the views you claim they hold are out of touch with reality. There are numerous topics, links and quotes on this forum alone which attest to this.

If Israel does not have any respect for human rights, what was this event all about? Nonsense blanket statements do not make an argument.

[Jingthing]

I've visited Istanbul. A gay mecca it's not. Very repressed scene there but I'm sure it's way better than Tehran.

[Jingthing]

Pinkwashing EXPOSED!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-dershowitz/the-pinkwashing-campaign-_b_2790669.html

The Pinkwashing Campaign Against Israel: Another Conspiracy Theory...
Whenever the Jews appear to be doing something good — giving charity, helping the less fortunate, curing the sick — there must be a malevolent motive, a hidden agenda, a conspiratorial explanation beneath the surface of the benevolent act.

...
That is the bigoted thesis of a new anti-Israel campaign being conducted by some radical gay activists who absurdly claim that Israel is engaging in “pinkwashing.” This burlesque of an argument first surfaced in a New York Times op-ed that claimed that Israel’s positive approach to gay rights is “a deliberate strategy to conceal the continuing violation of Palestinians human rights behind an image of modernity signified by Israeli gay life.” In other words, the Jew among nations is now being accused of promoting the rights of gay people in order to whitewash — or in this case pinkwash — its lack of concern for Palestinian people.