Madrid gay pride march bans Israelis over Gaza flotilla raids
A delegation of gay residents of Tel Aviv has been banned from joining a gay pride march in Madrid because authorities in the Israeli city have not condemned the recent attack on the Gaza flotilla.
"After what has happened, and as human rights campaigners, it seemed barbaric to us to have them taking part," explained Antonio Poveda, of Spain's Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transexuals and Bisexuals. "We don't just defend out own little patch."
The Tel Aviv group have reacted angrily to the decision, claiming that the Madrid activists were getting their priorities wrong by mixing the nine flotilla deaths with gay pride.
"I cannot recall anyone asking the Tel Aviv city hall to either support or condemn in this case. That is not their job. I also don't recall Madrid's gay organisations condemning any of the Palestinian terrorist attacks on cafes or buses," Eytan Schwartz, a spokesman for the city told Spain's El Mundo newspaper.
"Don't they know that Islamist fundamentalists don't just want to finish off Israel, but that they also believe homosexuals should 'cure themselves' or die?"
"It is shameful that they should join with pro-Palestinian and fundamentalist groups which are not exactly tolerant with homosexuality," he said.
"Why do they mix politics with a gay pride procession? We were invited as an apolitical association and we do not represent the government," Mike Hamel, one of the Israeli invitees, said.
Schwartz said that Tel Aviv had also extended an invitation to Madrid to send a gay delegation to the city.
Among other things, Tel Aviv had planned to take the Spanish organisers of the march to Gaza so they could witness a place "that is controlled by the fundamentalists of Hamas, who do not respect any human rights and believe that homosexuals should be killed," Schwartz said.
"We invited the organisers of the gay pride event in Madrid to join a march this Friday in Tel Aviv, the only place in the Middle East where you can be gay in public," he said.
"They would be able to talk to Arab gays who travel here secretly because they would be murdered at home if they revealed their sexuality."
They're here, they're queer and anti-Semitic, get used to it.
I'm so outraged right now...
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
FWIW, disagreeing with Israel's policies doesn't make you an anti-semite. People throw that word around way too much.
That said, I do think it's kind of silly to mix unrelated politics with a gay pride march and ban them from participating.
Banning Jews from participating in a gay pride march because of Israel is anti-semitic. We don't have any clue what the political stance is of those jews. This particular group of activists discriminated against them for being jews... that is all. If these had been Israeli arabs would they have been banned?
Nope... anti-semitism.
agreed, this is a gay pride march, wtf does it have to do with any of Israels other politics? fact is they're being singled out because they're Israeli Jews regardless of the fact if they may or may not agree with their current government.
FWIW, disagreeing with Israel's policies doesn't make you an anti-semite. People throw that word around way too much.
Well at least according to IHatePeopleIt means you disagree with the Israeli government.
Well at least according to IHatePeople
So you found something in common with the Taliban.Quite a photo with the article. Imagine what terrorists and Taliban etc think when they see stuff like that? Some guy has been crawling around in the dust and poverty of Afghanistan (maybe hes missing an eye from years of war) totally fixated to Sharia etc. - and then he sees stuff like that. Man it's no wonder they want to exterminate Israel and West
So you found something in common with the Taliban.
Yeah right. Got anything else Chicken Little?Not as much as Obama and the Dems (who have made terrorists a protected class)
Yeah right. Got anything else Chicken Little?
agreed, this is a gay pride march, wtf does it have to do with any of Israels other politics? fact is they're being singled out because they're Israeli Jews regardless of the fact if they may or may not agree with their current government.
to the point of one of the other posters though, i believe anti-semite/semitic is way over used. i guess it's to be expected though with the way people pull the race-card now a days figures it would bleed over into other things.
The article says they barred Israelis from participating, not Jews. Very important distinction. Again, I still think it's stupid, but you're trying to turn this into an ethnicity thing when it isn't.Banning Jews from participating in a gay pride march because of Israel is anti-semitic. We don't have any clue what the political stance is of those jews. This particular group of activists discriminated against them for being jews... that is all. If these had been Israeli arabs would they have been banned?
Nope... anti-semitism.
It's also getting very popular for people who actually are being ant-semitic to play the "you're just playing the anti-semitic card" card to defend their bigotry... know what I'm sayin?
Not as much as Obama and the Dems (who have made terrorists a protected class)
The article says they barred Israelis from participating, not Jews. Very important distinction. Again, I still think it's stupid, but you're trying to turn this into an ethnicity thing when it isn't.
Protesting against Israel human rights violations is ant-semitic. LOL.
Oh well as others have stated they are free to ban Israelis but lets be honest. It is Israel which is the only nation in the region which does not have a social and governmental policy designed to persecute and eliminate gays. Let me know when Hamas okays the holding of gay pride parades in Gaza.