The organizers of Friday’s “D.C. Dyke March,” a parade to celebrate LGBT Pride Month, have banned Gay Pride flags with a Jewish “Star of David” because they say it resembles the Israeli flag and evokes “violent nationalism.”
Writing in the Washington Blade, a Washington, DC, newspaper focusing on the LGBTQ community, Yael Horowitz and Rae Gaines — two self-described “Dykes … [and] self-loving Anti-Zionists” explain their reasons for the ban:
The organizers say that the Star of David can be displayed in other ways — just not on a Gay Pride flag. They appear to have a particular problem with the “Jewish Pride Flag,” a rainbow flag with a white Star of David in the middle, and refer to events at the “Chicago Dyke March.”
It was there, in 2017, that marchers were ejected for wearing the Gay Pride flag with a Jewish star, which in turn drew publicity and condemnation to the exclusion of pro-Israel, or merely proudly Jewish, participants.
Lesbian Jewish activist A.J. Campbell wrote at Tablet:
The left-leaning Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has already condemned the D.C. Dyke March for its stance, according to the Jewish Journal:
It is unclear whether any other national flags — including the American flag — are also being suppressed by the march. One organizer wrote to Campbell: “Palestinian symbols and Jewish symbols are both welcome and encouraged. However, Israeli symbols will not be welcome.”
Israel is the only country in the Middle East that protects LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights. Prime Minister Benjamin Nentayhu recently appointed Israel’s first openly gay minister, Amir Ohana. He will serve as interim justice minister until a new government is formed after the Sep. 17 elections.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.