Palestinian
QUEER
IDENTITY
Under Occupation
& Colonization
Ramallah
Ramallah
Jerusalem
“queers passed through here”
Overview
We aim to:
This presentation will focus mainly on Palestinians living within the territory that constitutes historic Palestine (AKA Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territories)
Definitions
Imperialism - A policy of extending power and influence through diplomacy, military force, cultural production, scholarship, and others.
Colonialism - Establishment, exploitation, maintenance, acquisition, and expansion of a "colony" in one territory by a political power from another territory
Settler-Colonialism - A process of colonial formation where the colonial entity dispatches its population to displace and/or subordinate the native population� Difference from colonialism: goes beyond the extraction of resources or labor, involves establishing permanent settlements in a given area via depopulation of natives. Control is exerted over indigenous inhabitants that remain.
Definitions
Orientalism - Western discourse that essentializes differences between West and East to rationalize domination, imperial rule, and intervention (a “civilizing mission”)
Homonationalism - Reframing queer identities as not only compatible with but exemplary of the agenda of imperialist states - defining queerness as a western phenomenon
Pinkwashing - “Israel’s promotion of a LGTBQ-friendly image to reframe the occupation of Palestine in terms of civilizational narratives measured by (sexual) modernity” - Jasbir Puar
Problematizing “Queer”
Why use terms of Western origin (“gay,” “queer,” “transgender”) to frame a discussion about unique Palestinian cultural forms?
“We use queer as a short cut to avoid the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] identity-based terms, and to refer and relate to different organizing approaches that focus on sexual and gender oppressions rather than on gay rights or homophobia,” [Haneen Maikey] said. “’Queer’ was used by Al-Qaws to open to new definitions … we constantly work on shaping the term to suit our needs and struggle, and not to eclipse diversity of experience.” Haneen Maikey, Director of alQaws
What affects queer politics in Palestine?
Intercommunity Struggles
Israeli Occupation & Apartheid
International Queer Politics
Spheres of influence (Part 1)
Intercommunity Struggles
The internal challenges queers face in a very family-oriented, largely conservative and patriarchal society. (Aswat website)
Organizations like alQaws for Gender and Sexual Diversity and Aswat for Palestinian Gay Women work towards building a politicized queer discourse in Palestine, internally, with all the limitations and challenges that these processes entail.
Spheres of influence (Part 1)
Intercommunity Struggles
How different or similar is this struggle to the ones we can relate to our own contexts?
“Granny, free your mind!”
(Aswat Campaign)
It wasn’t until quite recently that sodomy laws were “officially” declared unconstitutional in the United States
Leading Community Change
Case Study: al-Qaws
AlQaws for Gender and Sexual Diversity in Palestinian Society is “a civil society organization founded in grassroots activism, [...] building LGBTQ communities and promoting new ideas about the role of gender and sexual diversity in political activism, civil society institutions, media, and everyday life”
al-Qaws Summer Social Media Campaign
“Difference Never Justifies Violence”
al-Qaws Community Resources
Volunteer-run resource and support hotline
“Difference Never Justifies Violence” Online Campaign
Monthly Dance Parties
Spheres of influence (Part 1)
Intercommunity Struggles
Underground queer scenes exist across Palestine-- in cities like Ramallah and Jerusalem, and also in more “conservative” cities like Nablus
Cities where alQaws works, and/or where members and activity participants come from
Spheres of influence (Part 2)
International Community
What is the queer community of Palestine’s relationship with the international queer community?
Queer Palestinians are often “politicized in accordance to the international political standards or discourses and to speak the language of the international solidarity movements.” (Aswat)
Spheres of influence (Part 2)
International Community
How does mainstream LGBT+ activism internationally impact Palestinian queer identity?
“Unfortunately, Western representations of Palestinians, particularly lesbian, gay, transgender or queer Palestinians, tend to ignore diversity in Palestinian society.
That being said, Palestinians are living under a decades-long military occupation. The occupation amplifies the diverse forms of oppression that are experienced in every society...”
Spheres of influence (Part 2)
International Community
How does mainstream LGBT+ activism internationally impact Palestinian queer identity?
“...However, homophobia is not the way we contextualize our struggle. This is a notion comes from specific type of activism in the global north.
How can we single out homophobia from a complex oppressive system (patriarchy) that oppresses women, and gender non-conforming people?” (al-Qwas)
International Palestine Solidarity Groups
Pinkwatching Israel: Online resource and information hub for activists working on BDS within queer communities to expose and resist Israeli pinkwashing
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid�https://vimeo.com/99676672
Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism
Spheres of influence (Part 2)
International Community
Israel’s conformity to Western notions of queer liberation
“Finally, Israel is interested in portraying itself as positive, progressive, liberal, and democratic by, on the one hand, expressing its support for LGBT rights/people and, on the other, by presenting itself as queer Palestinians’ savior. Within this strategy, if Palestinians are going to have any access to or practice of “non-normative sexualities,” Israel is going to make sure it is somehow involved, so it can control and marshal those people and behaviors to serve its own interests.” (Electronic Intifada)
Spheres of influence (Part 3)
Occupation and Apartheid
Apartheid, defined by the United Nations International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid:
"Inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them.”
Spheres of influence (Part 3)
Occupation and Apartheid
Apartheid and Occupation impact all Palestinians: There is no proverbial “pink door” in the Apartheid wall (border used by Israeli government to expropriate Palestinian land).
Being queer doesn’t magically erase Palestinian identity and the oppression that comes with it. Being “queer friendly” doesn’t excuse apartheid.
Spheres of influence (Part 3)
Occupation and Apartheid
The dominant Israeli narrative of being a queer haven is propagandized, and often internalized by queer Palestinians.
It perpetuates the ideas that:
Colonialism and Homophobia
Colonialism ultimately feeds into homophobia in Palestine:
“Mainstream LGBT groups in the North would have us believe that queers live in a separate world, only connected to their societies as victims of homophobia.
But you cannot have queer liberation while apartheid, patriarchy, capitalism and other oppressions exist. It’s important to target the connections of these oppressive forces.” (al-Qwas, Eight Questions Palestinian Queers Are Tired of Hearing”)
Colonialism and Homophobia
A prime example of this is the common practice of extortion of Palestinians by the IDF.
Palestinians in Gaza are surveilled in order to gain information with which to blackmail them, honing in on their vulnerabilities like need for health care, familial strife/infidelity, drug use, finances, and sexuality.
The blackmailing of queer Palestinians is part of a larger norm of extortion: homophobia is fed by colonialist practices.
alQaws’ response to the IDF blackmailing queer Palestinians
“Understanding ‘homophobia’ in colonial contexts demands accounting for colonialism in order to understand homophobia, rather than positing homophobia as a timeless universal of all societies or the specific property of Arab and/or Muslim societies. In our work, we struggle constantly to resist and dismantle this oppressive stereotype that links queer people in Palestine with Israel, and instead to promote the complex understanding of “homophobia” that emphasizes its relationship with colonialism.”
Colonialism and Homophobia
“Oppressive powers do not differentiate between gay or straight people. You cannot work against the [Israeli] occupation and forget patriarchy or capitalism, as they are interlinked as part of the bigger oppressive system.”
-- Sami Shamali
Colonialism and Homophobia
“Israel commits Human Rights violations and occupies another people and then abuses my difficulties and my name by saying my society is backward and homophobic. My struggle is dismissed and my people are demonized. [...] More important is its impact on Palestinian gay youth who internalize these ideas and dream about running away to Israel, the supposed bastion of gay rights.”
-- Haneen Maikey
What is Pinkwashing?
Today is Jerusalem's gay pride parade. There's been some controversy over this parade, so I want to share with you my perspective.�Loving someone should never mean a life of fear or terror.�For too long, the LGBT community around the world has faced violence and intimidation.�Weeks ago, dozens of members of the LGBT community were gunned down in Orlando by a terrorist with a fanatic ideology.�We've all seen the horrific pictures of ISIS throwing gays off rooftops.�And the Iranian regime hangs them from cranes in public squares.�This is nothing short of insanity.�Surrounding us are regimes who literally murder you for being gay.�In Israel, the LGBT community marches with pride.�My unwavering belief is that all people are created equal.�This principle of equality is why 16 year-old Shira Banky marched in the parade last year and it's why thousands of you are marching today.�Shira was murdered by an extremist filled with hate.�And this hatred has no place whatsoever in Israeli society�We will always fight against it.�Sadly, some elements of our society are still not yet ready to accept the LGBT community.�My solemn promise to you today is to continue fostering respect for all of Israel's citizens, without exception.�Whether you are marching today or not, I ask you to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the LGBT community.�We will not let hate drown out acceptance.�Dignity, respect, acceptance.�These are the values that will triumph.
Orientalism and Pinkwashing
Pinkwashing “201”
Queer Palestinians in Western/Israeli Media
A Critical Look at Oriented
The film’s aim to promote "stories about strong queer Palestinians" is based in the same dehumanizing racist assumptions that also lay at the heart of "queer Palestinians as victims" movies. It is a pity to define our stories within an unfortunate racist and binary choice—we are "strong” or we are “victims"—promoted by the Israeli and Western audiences who are this film genre’s primary consumers.
– al-Qaws on Oriented
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