[Peace-discussion] "queer" As A Tool Of Colonial Oppression: The Case Of Israel/palestine

[michelle]

The article below exposes the ethical bankruptcy of the racists and=20
liars within the Green Party who worked against the boycott of the=20
misnamed WorldPride Jerusalem.

----------------------------------------
 From Znet - *"queer" As A Tool Of Colonial Oppression: The Case Of=20
Israel/palestine*

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=3D91&ItemID=3D10756=
=20
<http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=3D91&ItemID=3D1075=
6>

by Blair Kuntz; August 13, 2006

As the second Palestinian Intifada erupted in the autumn of 2000, a=20
curious and persistent argument began being employed by supporters of=20
the Israeli state. At many talks with guest speakers sympathetic to the=20
Palestinian cause, Zionist supporters of Israel, many of them rather=20
macho young men who never identified themselves as gay and who almost=20
certainly never lived in an Arab or Muslim country, would stand up and=20
decry the lack of gay rights in the Palestinian Territories compared to=20
their view of the enlightened policies of Israel.

Given the frequency of the attacks, it was obvious that they were part=20
of a concerted campaign to demonize Palestinians. Indeed, citing a=20
sensationalized report printed in the pro-Israeli New Republic magazine=20
which suggested that the Palestinian Authority was conducting a vicious=20
campaign against homosexuals in the West Bank and Gaza Strip [1], one=20
pro-Israeli writer stated that as a result hundreds of Palestinians had=20
been forced to flee to Israel, concluding that "if any gay solidarity=20
exists it must be to defend the nations that permit us to live and=20
denounce the regimes that do not," as he then went on ironically to=20
defend the policies of homophobe George W. Bush's vision as "the only=20
hope for freedom in the Middle East [2]."

This year, as World Pride Day (held in Jerusalem in August 2006) edged=20
closer, mainstream North American Zionist Jewish organizations such as=20
United Jewish Communities organized the National LGBT Pride in Israel=20
Mission. Such organizations promised organized all expenses paid "gay=20
tours" for the members of the "gay elite" so that they could witness=20
first-hand Israel's enlightened gay society by touring sites=20
"specifically significant to gays and lesbians [3]."

The presence of such a concerted campaign by many people not normally=20
motivated to speak out on behalf of gay rights is clearly designed to=20
portray Israel as humane and tolerant, while demonstrating that their=20
Arab, specifically their Palestinian, neighbors are not. Like Western=20
arguments used to justify the West's "war on terror", this argument is=20
an obvious attempt to legitimize Israeli racism and war crimes, and to=20
present Israel as a beacon of human rights and democracy when in fact,=20
as this paper will demonstrate, Israel in practice displays as little=20
concern for the rights of gay Palestinians as it does for heterosexual=20
Palestinians. Aside from the ludicrous proposition that Israel has=20
somehow rid itself of homophobia, it is even more absurd to suggest that =

somehow Palestinian gays and lesbians should willingly bow down and=20
thank the Israeli government for having passing gay rights laws in=20
Israel as they witness the carnage of this summer's grotesquely-named=20
"Summer Rain" campaign in Gaza and applaud as they view relatives and=20
friends killed as "collateral damage" by Israeli Apache helicopters. It=20
is as if Palestinian gays and lesbians should whisper quiet notes of=20
thanks to the benevolent Israeli government as they wait together for=20
hours with their heterosexual brothers and sisters at racist check-points=
=2E

Such statements, naturally, are designed to appeal to the worst=20
Orientalist stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims as a people hopelessly=20
mired in a barbaric past dooming them to intolerance and backwardness.=20
In justifying war crimes by the fact that Israel has granted queers=20
civil rights, Israeli supporters have wrapped the word "queer" in a=20
bright and shiny package shorn of all reference to past queer struggles. =

Seemingly, it is a package Israel can now export-perhaps along with the=20
arms shipments that make the country the world's third largest arms=20
exporter [4]-to justify Israeli colonialism. As we shall see, the=20
package has serious defects. As the American anti-occupation queer group =

QUIT (Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism) notes: "The government of=20
Israel is not building a wall around an entire country because it is=20
attempting to create a queer safe space [5]."

The first defect in the argument is that it neglects Israel's own=20
homophobic past. This is important because we should remember that=20
Israel's Jewish holocaust survivors shared a common experience with gays =

under Hitler's rule. Like Jews, "Aryan" gays were also targeted for=20
deportation and murder; however, we should remember that the oppression=20
of German gay men began earlier than that of any other group. Gay men,=20
who wore a pink triangle, were treated worse than any other group,=20
subjected to castration, torture, and beatings, were subjected to the=20
lowest position in the camp hierarchy, and subjected to abuse by both=20
guards and fellow prisoners. When the camps were liberated, American=20
soldiers often berated gay prisoners for their perversion. Other gay=20
prisoners were liberated only to be thrown back into jail as they were=20
considered dangerous sex offenders, while others were left to perish [6].=


As fellow victims of the Nazi Holocaust, gays might have thought that=20
the establishment of the nascent Jewish state would have been=20
sympathetic to gays within the new state. Instead, the newly-created=20
entity enacted its own anti-sodomy law, and because of the influence of=20
religious Judaism, lesbian and gay Jews were denied the right to aliya=20
or the right of Jewish return. Moreover, the decades following the=20
establishment of the Jewish state emphasized family and reproduction to=20
increase the Jewish population and were hardly a paradise for gays and=20
lesbians. This is true especially if one can judge by a paper written on =

homosexuality on Israeli kibbutzes in which all of the gays interviewed=20
recalled that homosexuality was a topic that was almost never discussed=20
[7]. Instead, gays and lesbians were rendered invisible and subject to=20
societal disapproval.

Israel's anti-sodomy law was only removed in 1988, far after many other=20
western nations had removed theirs [8]. Even then, to pass the law,=20
liberal Knesset members called the vote in the middle of the night when=20
they knew that religious Knesset members would not be present [9]. Many=20
years after the law was passed, Israeli politicians routinely uttered=20
homophobic remarks, most prominently Israeli president Ezer Weizman who=20
denounced homosexuals in 1996 while addressing high-school students stati=
ng:

"Homosexuality is abnormal from a social point of view=C2=85I personally =
do=20
not accept this business of everyone coming out of the closet. It seems=20
to me to be weird [10]." In 1999, then Health Minister Schlomo Benirzi,=20
a member of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, proclaimed Dana=20
International, the transsexual singer who won the Eurovison song=20
festival, "an abomination" [11]." Most recently, this year an Israeli=20
rabbi, David Basri, has blamed avian flu on election campaigns promoting =

gay marriage [12], while leaflets advocating "death to Sodomites" have=20
been distributed in Jerusalem's ultra-orthodox Jewish neighborhoods.=20
Clearly, despite the passage of gay rights laws, there are still many=20
people in Israel who don't like lgbt people.

Given that homosexuality was hardly universally accepted in Israel, and=20
indeed was more likely to be the object of disdain, many academics have=20
posited that instead of demonstrating remarkable tolerance, the granting =

of gay rights can be explained as Hagai El-Ad, the Executive Director of =

Jerusalem's lgbt community center The Open House notes, "the closing of=20
the ranks among the Jewish majority in the face of a common Arab enemy=20
[13]." Jewish gay activists gained acceptance by convincing the wider=20
public that they were patriotic citizens. As Ruti Kadih notes, lesbians=20
presented themselves as mothers who have performed their Zionist task,=20
while gay males presented themselves as soldiers who wanted to serve=20
their country like everyone else [14]. Thus, as Joshua Gamson explains:=20
"Gays and lesbians have fast become not-Other by emphasizing not just=20
their similarity to straights but their difference from the ultimate=20
Other [i.e. the Arabs] in Israel [15]."

Indeed, the need for Jewish bodies to defend the Jewish state (for only=20
Druze and Bedouin Arabs are allowed to join the Israeli Offense Forces)=20
cannot be over-emphasized as two studies by Israeli researchers suggest. =

One states, for example, that "there is no evidence that the=20
long-standing inclusion of homosexuals in the IDF has harmed operational =

effectiveness, combat readiness, unit cohesion or morale in the Israeli=20
military [16]" while another found "no common adjustment problems=20
relating to these [gay] men's sexual orientation [17]". But, as one=20
paper notes, while the law has been changed to allow gays and lesbians=20
to serve in the Army, the vast majority still choose to hide their=20
sexual orientation from their fellow combatants, and instead adapt to=20
the masculine and heterosexual norms of the Army [18].

Meanwhile, other gay activists, especially from the Israeli group Black=20
Laundry, an lgbt group fighting for equality for Israel's Palestinian=20
citizens and against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza=20
refuses to legitimize Israeli racism and announces that "the oppression=20
of all minorities within Israel is fed by the same racism, chauvinism,=20
and militarism that causes the dispossession of the Palestinian people=20
to continue [19]". Furthermore, as Hagai El-Ad argues, while Israel has=20
passed gay rights laws there is still no government commitment to=20
financing a gay youth shelter in Tel Aviv or opening up high schools=20
across the country to the lecture services of Israel's gay=20
organizations. As El-Ad continues: "Will gays and lesbians choose now to =

close ranks with the oppressive majority, or will we understand that a=20
future of freedom is possible for us only if it's possible for everyone? =

[20]"

The argument concerning the granting of gay rights in the face of a=20
common Arab enemy is further buttressed by the May 2006 ruling of the=20
Israeli Supreme Court that upheld a controversial law amendment to the=20
Citizenship Law that prevents "family unification" of Palestinians=20
married to Arab citizens of Israel or Arab Jerusamlemites [21]. Thus,=20
while gay rights are granted largely for the benefit of Israel's Jewish=20
citizens, under the tenure of Ariel Sharon as prime minister, new forms=20
of discriminatory legislation were passed for the country's Arab=20
citizens. As usual, the Israeli government claims the law is necessary=20
for "security" reasons, but according to HAKOMED Center for the Defense=20
of the Individual, the real reason is a demographic one, and the=20
organization quotes former Interior Minister, Eli Yishai who stated that =

non-Jews "threaten the Jewish character of the State of Israel [22]."=20
Furthermore, senior officials in the Population Administration contended =

at the time that family unification effectively constituted the=20
"realization of the right of return in a roundabout way [23]."

Meanwhile, gays who have fled the Palestinian territories will never be=20
granted the rights of refugees because granting such rights to=20
Palestinian gays is also seen as attempting to gain a "creeping right of =

return." Indeed, while gay men have fled the West Bank and Gaza-and=20
meanwhile, far more gays probably go to Amman, Jordan than to=20
Israel-what is less documented is Israel's own role in creating=20
homophobia in Palestinian society through the blackmailing of gay=20
Palestinians. As with Palestinian children, recruiting Palestinian gays=20
as collaborators is part and parcel of Israel's policy to maintain=20
control over Palestinian territory. The Israeli secret police often=20
exploit gay Palestinians by coercing them into working undercover to=20
gather information about other Palestinians [24]. Those accused of being =

collaborators are at risk of stigmatization, exclusion, and occasionally =

retaliation. Gays identified as collaborators stigmatize gay men in=20
general, and collaborators of all stripes are shown little mercy,=20
especially when they are connected to serious incidents leading to the=20
death of other Palestinians. Thus, if gays meet a violent end it is not=20
clear whether they are killed because they are gay or because they are=20
seen as informers.

Unfortunately, while Israeli defenders laud their country's liberal gay=20
rights policies, Israel has done nothing to protect gay runaways. Most=20
runaways came during the period of the Oslo accords, but none have been=20
granted official residence status or asylum. In fact, Israeli police=20
have expelled several dozen gay runaways at West Bank and Gaza=20
checkpoints, and have arrested Palestinian gay runaways and sent them=20
back to the West Bank. Persecution for sexual orientation warrants=20
asylum under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees covenant=20
to which Israel is a signatory, but it has never accepted a gay=20
Palestinian's refugee appeal. Indeed, Israel has never granted refugee=20
asylum to any Palestinian, gay or straight, not even to those who make a =

credible claim that they will be killed if they are sent back to the=20
West Bank or Gaza. As Kathleen Peratis of Human Rights Watch notes, the=20
only exception for this is for people who "identify with the State of=20
Israel and its goals" and who "performed a material act to advance the=20
security of the state"-in other words, collaborators [25].

The Nationality and Entry into Israel law, the same law which denies the =

rights of Israeli Arab citizens to marry Palestinians living in the West =

Bank and Gaza, according to Human Rights Watch, has in fact led to a=20
crackdown on gay Palestinians in Israel. Now, no official status is=20
possible, so most gays who do find their way to Israel soon find=20
themselves objects of police protection and are arrested and summarily=20
expelled. Obviously, in contrast to the claims of pro-Israeli defenders, =

Palestinian gays are no more welcome or protected in Israel than=20
heterosexual Palestinians. Both are seen as demographic threats to the=20
Jewish population, and all of Israel's high-sounding words about=20
protecting gays are revealed as empty rhetoric.

Furthermore, as Israeli defenders decry their Arab neighbors supposed=20
contempt for gays and women, they never acknowledge the role Israel has=20
played in encouraging both Islamic and Christian religious=20
fundamentalists hostile to gay rights. Just as the United States=20
promoted and funded religious fundamentalist movements such as the=20
Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the Taliban in Afghanistan, al-Qaida, and=20
the Ayotollah Khomeni in Iran while over the years actively helping to=20
overthrow or de-stabilize secular governments in Iran, Iraq, and Egypt,=20
Israel too has played the role of the sorcerer's apprentice in=20
encouraging Islamic fundamentalism, trying to defeat, as former=20
intelligence director for the Defense Intelligence Agency, states, "Arab =

nationalism using Muslim zealots [26]". As Charles Freeman, a veteran=20
U.S. diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, states:=20
"Israel started Hamas. It was a project of Shin Bet [the Israeli=20
domestic intelligence agency], which had a feeling that they could use=20
it to hem in the PLO [27] (Dreyfuss, p. 191]." Though it would later=20
assassinate Sheikh Ahmad Yassin in 2004, after 1967 Israel saw Yassin=20
and the Muslim Brotherhood as valuable allies against the PLO and=20
watched benignly as it created charity organizations and religious=20
endowments in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In 1973, while Shin Bet=20
looked on, Yassin founded the Islamic Center which became the Islamic=20
Association. Manachem Begin formally licensed the Association and the=20
Israeli governor of the Gaza Strip, Yitzhak Segev has admitted to=20
financing the Islamic movement as a counterweight to the PLO and the=20
Communists [28] (Dreyfuss, p. 197)." Besides promoting Hamas, Israel has =

also actively supported the Muslim Brotherhood in its campaign against=20
the Bath Party in Syria and shipped arms and provided intelligence=20
information to Iran's fundamentalist mullahs during the Iran-Iraq war.

Nor has the Israeli government shied away from forming ties with=20
virulently homophobic pro-Israeli Christian Zionist fundamentalists,=20
whose hate speech against gays (shorn of its Biblical references) would=20
have found favor with the Nazis. These fundamentalists include such men=20
as Pat Robertson, whom the Zionist Organization of America has honored=20
with its State of Israel Friendship Award, and Jerry Falwell to whom=20
former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin presented the Jabotinsky=20
Centennial medal for his work on behalf of Israel [29]. The Christian=20
Zionist fundamentalists' support stems from their belief in the "end=20
days" which will only happen when the Jews return to Israel and build=20
the Third Temple over the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. When this=20
happens, the final battle, Armageddon, will be fought and all righteous=20
believers will be "raptured" into heaven. Those who don't convert will=20
perish.

Although this scenario theoretically will result in the eradication of=20
the Jewish people, the Israeli government continues to court the=20
evangelists for their economic and political support for Israel, and as=20
the United States, influenced by the Christian fundamentalists'=20
political clout, joins Iran in 2006 in voting against granting two=20
European gay rights groups UN observer status, Israel, supposedly a=20
great friend of gays, remains silent. Meanwhile, the United States' and=20
Israel's support for fundamentalist Islamic groups to the detriment of=20
secular governments has important ramifications for the lives of lgbt=20
people in the region. As Ali Hili, a gay Muslim Iraqi living in exile in =

Britain has stated, during Saddam Hussein's regime Iraqi gays enjoyed=20
some acceptance, especially in theatre, in entertainment and media.=20
Since the American invasion of Iraq, however, and the subsequent rise to =

power of Shia fundamentalists such as the Ayatollah al-Sistani (who has=20
issued a death fatwa against gays), death squads have been=20
systematically targeting gay Iraqis for persecution and execution. When=20
gay activists go to U.S. authorities in the Green Zone for help, the=20
American officials, who we must remember take their orders from an=20
openly homophobic administration, treat the gays who ask for protection=20
with contempt and derision [30].

Indeed, when the pro-Israeli supporters deride homophobia in the Moslem=20
world, they reveal-often comically-their own racism and obvious=20
ignorance. Certainly, for example, the American actions at Abu Ghraib=20
prison in which American soldiers fixated on simulating homosexual=20
relations among Iraqi male prisoners reveal more about Americans'=20
repressed homosexual desires than they will ever reveal about Arabs or=20
Moslems. Furthermore, a cursory look at the history of same-sex=20
relations in the Muslim world would reveal that until recently, at=20
least, Muslim cultures have demonstrated a far greater tolerance for=20
same-sex relations than their Judeo-Christian counterparts [31]. In=20
contrast to their Christian counterparts there is no similar history of=20
medieval witch-hunts and the burning of homosexuals at the stake. In=20
contrast, as Assad Abu Khalil notes, "the regularity and apparent=20
legitimacy of homosexual relations were seen by Medieval Christians as=20
evidence of the moral decadence of Moslems [32]." The region of the=20
world with the most visible and diverse homosexualities was not Europe,=20
but North Africa and southwestern Asia [33].

Islamic poetry has many examples in Arabic, Turkish, Persian and Urdu in =

which the poet expresses an idealized love of boys while elsewhere in=20
Islamic history one finds the sexual use of young male entertainers,=20
dancers, and military cadets. In societies where male sexual pleasure is =

seen as positive and where male sexual urges require the release of=20
accumulated semen and where sexes are segregated, and where women are=20
expected to be virgins until they are married, same-sex relations are=20
unsurprisingly common. Although homosexuality often was seen as an act,=20
rather than an identity, with the male who assumed the passive female=20
role seen as inferior, as Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe conclude:=20
"Many of the factors credited with fostering the emergence of modern=20
Western homosexual patterns such as western labeling practices, the=20
popular belief that homosexuality is a character trait, the association=20
of non-masculinity of homosexual desire, and the possibility of urban=20
networks or subcultures were present in historical Islamic societies=20
[34]. The historical pattern continues to the present day, and same-sex=20
relations are likely to be met with a "will not to know" [35] and as=20
long as the relations do not interfere with societal and familial=20
responsibilities, the relations are likely to be overlooked. Naturally,=20
there are problems with this social model, but in contrast to Western=20
societies, much affection is allowed between men in most Moslem=20
cultures. And while the western press (like the New Republic's=20
sensational focus on the treatment of Palestinian gays) typically=20
focuses on news items such as beheadings in Saudi Arabia, as gay=20
journalist Mubarak Dahir notes, "from what I was able to discover while=20
in Saudi Arabia, it seems unlikely that simply being discovered to be=20
gay is sufficient to get you beheaded." He observed that most of the gay =

men he met were worried about other matters such as how to meet others=20
for sex and companionship rather than being beheaded [36].

In choosing to go ahead with World Pride in Jerusalem, InterPride, the=20
organization which sponsored World Pride, appeared to have closed ranks=20
with the oppressor rather than insisting on freedom and human rights for =

everyone. While World Pride used the all-embracing theme "Love Without=20
Borders" to express a liberal and tolerant image, in fact, as the group=20
Queers for Palestine noted, the title was truly ironic given the fact=20
that it was chosen as the Israeli government was building its apartheid=20
wall cutting off approximately 200,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem=20
from the West Bank [37]. Indeed, while World Pride celebrated a supposed =

"Love Without Borders," most Palestinian gays couldn't attend due to the =

system of checkpoints and closure. Other Middle Eastern lgbt people such =

as those in the Lebanese group Helem (Dream) weren't able to attend:=20
first, because they were automatically excluded from attending Israel,=20
and second, because their country was being torn apart and destroyed by=20
a horrific Israeli military invasion. In keeping with its=20
western-oriented mandate to spread the international-or should we say=20
western-"gay uniform", InterPride, distributed thousands of DVDs in San=20
Francisco and New York promoting the "great parties" and "beautiful=20
women" in Israel, and focused on the Israeli government allowing openly=20
gay men and women to serve (never discussing the role this force plays=20
in denying the rights of Palestinians). It did, however, condemn the=20
Palestinian Authority for its treatment of lesbian and gay people [38].

As the Latin American queer group Grupo de Trabajo por los Derechos=20
Sexuales en America Latina observed before the event: "The state of=20
Israel is going to make use of the Pride celebration-like the=20
Argentinean junta did during the World Soccer Cup in 1978-to collect=20
revenues and show the world how Israel is a free and tolerant country,=20
in opposition to its "barbaric" neighbors who could benefit from=20
invasion if that is the price to bring the 'joys of civilization' [39]."

Indeed, if groups such as InterPride wished to promote queer rights in=20
the Middle East, surely they could have thought of a better strategy=20
than bringing groups of consumerist lgbt westerners to Israel, while=20
Palestinians, both gay and straight, suffered the humanitarian=20
catastrophe resulting from the "diet" laughingly imposed upon them by an =

Israeli government punishing them for practicing the democratic rights=20
Israel rhetorically talks about but doesn't practice.

If greater tolerance for lgbt people develops, it won't be a result of=20
the empty pronouncements of Irshad Manji, a lesbian pro-Israeli=20
supporter who celebrates Israel's "diversity" (wouldn't true diversity=20
mean a one-state solution?) while whitewashing the ethnic cleansing of=20
Palestinians as she supports colonial wars in Afghanistan and Iraq while =

spreading her message of support for the powerful on the hate-mongering=20
FOX TV [40].

Increased lgbt acceptance in the Middle East will more likely result=20
instead from gay groups in the Middle East working in their traditional=20
cultures, while true solidarity from abroad will be demonstrated by lgbt =

groups of integrity and honesty such as QUIT, Queers for Palestine, the=20
Grupo de Trabajo por los Derechos Sexuales en America Latina, and the=20
South African group Engender which oppose militarism and colonialism and =

which realize that in their own countries gays are still murdered purely =

because of their sexuality, gay teenagers are still expelled from their=20
homes, and as in my home country Canada, citizens are still capable of=20
electing a vehemently homophobic government-a government which must be=20
stressed firmly supports Israeli war crimes-determined to take away=20
queer rights.

If we are truly concerned about lgbt rights, we should recognize that=20
civil rights for lgbt people in one place does not excuse oppression or=20
war crimes in another. In short, it demands that we join with the many=20
brave Jews who oppose and refuse the Israeli government narrative, the=20
refuseniks who refuse to be co-opted by Israeli war machine, and stand=20
up and shout: "Not in our name!"

Endnotes

1. Halevi, Yossi Klein. "Gay Palestinians' plight" in The New Republic,=20
issues 4, 570 and 4, 571, August 19 and 26, 2002, p. 12.
2. Bernstein, David J. "Gay Palestinians suffer under Arafat" in Hillel: =

the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life: cms.hillel.org, November 27, 2002.=

3. "Israel news." Baltimore Jewish Times.com. www.jewishtimes.com=20
<http://www.jewishtimes.com>, August 25, 2005.
4. "Arms unto the nations" in=20
www.arcuk.org/pages/arms_unto_the_nations.htm=20
<http://www.arcuk.org/pages/arms_unto_the_nations.htm>
5. Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism. "Apartheid Pride? No Thanks!"=20
BAR Newspaper, May 12, 2005.
6. Plant, Richard. The Pink Triangle: the Nazi War Against Homosexuals.=20
New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1986: p. 181.
7. Ben-Ari, Adital Tirosh. "Experiences of 'not belonging' in=20
collectivistic communities: narratives of gays in kibbutzes," in Journal =

of Homosexuality, vol. 42, issue 2, 2001: p. 101-125.
8. Walzer, Lee. "Queer in the land of Sodom," in TheGully.com, February=20
21, 2002. www.thegully.com <http://www.thegully.com>
9. Ibid.
10. International Lesbian and Gay Association. World Legal Survey.=20
www.ila.info <http://www.ila.info>
11. Gamson, Joshua. "The Officer and the Diva" in The Nation, June 28,=20
1999, p. 21.
12. "Bird flu God's wrath: rabbi" in www.news.com <http://www.news.com>, =

March 21, 2006.
13. El-Ad, Hagai. "Gay Israel: No Pride in Occupation" in TheGully.com,=20
February 21, 2002. www.thegully.com <http://www.thegully.com>
14. Gamson, op cit., p. 21
15. Ibid.: p. 22.
16. Belkin, Aron and Melissa Levitt. "Homosexuality and the Israeli=20
Defense Forces: did lifting the gay ban undermine military performance?" =

in Armed Forces and Society, vol. 27, no. 4, Summer 2001: p. 544.
17. Kaplan, Danny and Eylal Ben-Ari. "Brothers and others in arms:=20
managing gay identity in combat units of the Israeli Army" in Journal of =

contemporary ethnography, vol. 29, no. 4, August 2000: p. 397.
18. Ibid.: p. 406.
19. www.blacklaudry.org/images/englishflyer.jpg=20
<http://www.blacklaudry.org/images/englishflyer.jpg>
20. El-Ad, op cit., p. 4
21. "Court narrowly upholds 'family unification ban'" in Ha'aretz,=20
Sunday, May 14, 2006.
22. Stein, Yael. Forbidden families: family unification and child=20
registration in East Jerusalem. Jerusalem: HAKOMED Center for the=20
Defense of the Individual, 2004: p. 17.
23. Ibid.: p. 18.
24. "Palestinian gays flee to Israel," BBC News, October 22, 2003.
25. Peratis, Kathleen. "Only human: for gay Palestinians, Tel Aviv is=20
Mecca," in Forward, February 24, 2006.
26. Dreyfuss, Robert. The Devil's game: how the United States helped=20
unleash fundamentalist Islam. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2005: p. 206.=

27. Ibid.: p. 191.
28. Ibid.: p. 197.
29. Horowitz, Craig. "Israel's Christian soldiers," in New York=20
magazine, September 29, 2003.
30. Ireland, Doug. "Iran exports anti-gay pogrom to Iraq" in In These=20
Times, May 31, 2006.
31. Dunne, Bruce. "Power and sexuality in the Middle East" in Middle=20
East Report, Spring 1998: p. 8.
32. Abu Khalil, Assad. "Gender boundaries and sexual categories in the=20
Arab world," in Feminist issues, 1997, vol. 15, no. 1-2.
33. Roscoe, Will and Stephen O. Murray. Introduction in Islamic=20
homosexualities: culture, history, and literature. New York: New York=20
University Press, 1997: p. 4.
34. Roscoe, Will and Stephen O. Murray. Conclusion in Islamic=20
homosexualities: culture, history, and literature. New York: New York=20
University Press, 1997: p. 314.
35. Murray, Stephen O. "The will not to know: Islamic accommodations to=20
male homosexuality" in Islamic homosexualities: culture, history, and=20
literature. New York: New York University Press, 1997: p. 14
36. Mubarak, Dahir. "Is beheading really the punishment for=20
homosexuality in Saudi Arabia?"in Sodomy laws,=20
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<http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/saudi_arabia/saudinews19.htm>
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www.quitpalestine.org <http://www.quitpalestine.org>
38. Coalition to Boycott World Pride Jerusalem 2006.=20
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39. Email distributed by ALITT (Associacion lucha por la identidad=20
travesti y transexual) and MULLABI (Grupo de Trabajo por los derechos=20
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<http://www.zmag.org>


A modified version of this paper was presented at "Crossroads2006", the=20
biennial conference of the Association for Cultural Studies, in Istanbul =

in July 2006.

Blair Kuntz is the Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies Librarian at the=20
University of Toronto Libraries.

--=20
Dissident Veteran for Peace
http://vfpdissident.blogspot.com/

Zionists Out of the Peace Movement
http://zionistsout.blogspot.com/