A Global Movement for Queer-Powered BDS
Pinkwatching Israel – launched by queer Arab activists in 2010, operated as a hub for information sharing on Israeli efforts transform public perception of Israel from an Apartheid settler state to a harmless, liberal, gay-friendly playground by juxtaposing this false image with a portrayal of Palestinian and Arab societies as backwards, repressive and intolerant.
Today, anti-pinkwashing activism is exploding everywhere. To build on this momentum, Pinkwatching Israel and Palestinian Queers for BDS revamped Pinkwatching Israel’s platform and mission to fill one evident gap: creating a global movement to promote queer-powered calls against pinkwashing and pushing the Boycott, Sanctions, and Divestment Campaign against Israel to the forefront of the global queer movement. Pinkwatching Israel brings together vibrant queer and BDS activists from around the world to imagine, visualize, and campaign for BDS and expose pinkwashing.
How We Work
The disingenuous invocation of “LGBT rights” by Israel and its supporters to divert attention away from its atrocities against the Palestinians is increasingly becoming part of the public debate around Israel and Palestine. By falsely juxtaposing “oppressed gay Palestinians” with “liberated gay Israelis”, and by flattening out relations of power and the political realities of occupation and the Apartheid wall, pinkwashers aim to harness the global LGBT movement into supporting Israel at the expense of the Palestinians.
Pinkwatching Israel is a queer-powered global movement with three goals:
- To expose efforts by Israel and its supporters to pinkwash Israeli crimes
- To promote BDS against Israel
- To create a solid, connected community of queer and social justice activists working towards justice in Palestine
We aim to do this by offering Pinkwatching Israel as an interactive platform where activists and groups around the globe can strengthen each other with tools, tactics, information, and strategies. Take a look at our Anti-Pinkwashing Toolkit, browse through our interactive timeline of queer BDS work and read through our blog for analysis, articles, and commentary.
One thing we understood from the uprisings and revolutions sweeping across the region is that now more than ever, we are all connected. The walls of fear have been broken. Together, we are fierce voices for justice in Palestine. And we are very, very pink.