apartheid the Israeli government controls most of the roads in the West Bank and around it, as well as most of Gaza strip's connections with the outer world – in the air, land and sea. In addition, Israel controls most of the 'legitimate' money and goods transfer junctions in the West Bank and Gaza. Thus, the entire population residing between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea are under the direct control of the Israeli government. The Arab population are subject to constant humiliation through the checkpoint system, military occupation of their towns, home demolitions, frequent arrests, administrative detention, settlement expansion, racism, and physical and mental abuse from settlers. Half of the inhabitants of this territory are Palestinians, when four million of those Palestinians are denied any civil rights, they are not considered citizens.pinkwashing stands for the various actions made by actors who have an interest in promoting the state of Israel as a “Western-liberal-democracy” in an effort to distract from the apartheid policies of the state and Israel’s many recorded human rights violations. These activities include various tourism campaigns directed at international audiences promoting Tel Aviv as the "Gay capital of the Middle East". The actors might include the Israeli Army Spokesperson office, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, American Zionist NGOs, Israeli Zionist NGOs, journalists and pretty much any other individual who sees value in promoting Israel's "Western-liberal democratic" representation.

STOPPINKWASHING

APARTHEID

More information...Aswat: www.aswatgroup.org/en

alQaws: www.alqaws.org/q/enPalestinian Queers for BDS: www.pqbds.com

Israeli Laundry: www.israelilaundry.orgPinkwatching Israel: www.pinkwatchingisrael.com

Rationalizing Pinkwashing: How Do Israeli Gay Activists Promote the Apartheid Regime?: academia.edu/3372038/

The World’s Fattest Rainbow: www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/06/28/the_worlds_fattest_rainbow.html

Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights at Western University

We are a human rights club that is dedicated to nonviolent forms of protest and resistance. SPHR aims to educate people

about the daily struggles of the Palestinians and we try to educate others by drawing parallels between the historical and

recent struggles of other humans around the globe.

We wish to raise awareness about the plight of the Palestinian diaspora that live scattered across the world. We also seek to inform about the system of Apartheid that Israel is building in

the West Bank and Gaza, as well as in Israel proper.

We advocate the use of peaceful, non-violent resistance to apply pressure on Israel to comply with international law. We

formally endorse the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions initiative, as well as the Canadian Boat to Gaza and the

Freedom Flotilla 2.

www.facebook.com/SPHRATUWO@SPHRUWestern

sphratuwo@gmail.com

Pinkwashing is a common propaganda device utilized by the state of Israel in an attempt to gain LGBTQ support for the Israeli state by

painting Israel as a safe-haven for gays against the backdrop of a “backward” Middle-East. Israel’s mythologized acceptance of gays has been used on the international stage to take the focus away its

ongoing and brutal oppression of Palestinians and the apartheid policies of the state.

IDF’s Gay Pride Facebook photo goes viralThe Times of Israel, June 12, 2012.

In 2012, Israel’s army obligingly posted to its Facebook page a photo of two male Israeli soldiers sauntering down the street, hand in hand. The insinuation: Israel’s army is a warm-hearted institution welcoming gay couples. It even lets them hold hands in front of civilians; surely such a tolerant army can’t be conducting a brutal, racist occupation!However, the photo was staged: the two soldiers in the photo are not a couple, only one of them is gay, and both work in the army spokesperson’s office.

But even had the two been a genuine couple, there’s a larger, inconvenient truth: accepting gays into its army and welcoming tourists to gay-friendly party-hardy Tel Aviv don’t diminish one iota Israel’s ongoing massive violations of both international law and Palestinians’ fundamental human rights.

Queer Women of Color Still Face Racism During Pride, Among Other ThingsSpectra Speaks, June 9 2011.

Palestinian Queers for BDS (PQBDS) is a group of Palestinian queer activists who live in the Palestinian Occupied Territory and inside Israel, who came together to promote and stand for the Palestinian civil society call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel, that was launched in July 2005.

Aswat is a group of lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, questioning and queer Palestinian women who came together in 2002 and established a home for Palestinian LBTQI women to allow safe, supportive and empowering spaces to express and address personal, social and political struggles as a national indigenous minority living inside Israel; as women in a patriarchal society; and as LBTQI women in a wider hetronormative culture.

al Qaws is a group of LGBTQ Palestinian activists who work collaboratively to break down gendered and heteronormative barriers. Today a growing number of Palestinians claim their sexual orientation and gender identity and identify themselves as LGBTQ persons. Although it is growing fast, the LGBTQ Palestinian community is still in its early stages. Understanding of this crucial stage in the development of their community shapes the daily work, long-term planning and overall vision.

Student leaders against Israeli ApartheidMaclean’s on Campus, July 5 2010.

In 2010, then again in 2013 after the Toronto Pride festival refused to ban Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) from its parade, City Council attempted to deny funding for the event. Councillors from the Israel lobby have tried desperately to exclude the group, even proposing a “diversity bonus” to Pride if it agrees to remove QuAIA from the parade. But in a 32–3 vote, the Council agreed to fund Pride in full, even raising its funding a $16,000 increase from the previous year. Mayor Rob Ford was one of the only three to give a dissenting vote.

Where in the Middle East Can Gay Officers Serve Their Country?BlueStar PR

BlueStar PR, "The Jewish Ink Tank", is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization which produces "visual media that strengthens existing efforts to gain popular support and interest for Israel and Judaism." Blue Star creates and distributes pro-Israel posters, rally signs, postcards, and brochures. BlueStar has been known to target high school and college students.

During the long struggle against apartheid South Africa, many of the same arguments were used in its defense: it was an island in a sea of “backwardness”, it was the only “democracy” in the region; it protected liberal rights — even the status of gays in South Africa was invoked. Because of its special circumstances, it was argued, South Africa needed its apartheid system to protect those freedoms for the favoured race. One day, the argument that Israel needs to practice apartheid and colonialism to protect the freedoms of a favoured race will seem equally hollow.

Silencing of Palestinian Queer voicesPinkwashing seeks to silence and delegitimize the voices, struggle and hard work of Palestinian queer activists and organizations such as Palestinian Queers for BDS, Aswat (Palestinian Gay Women) and al Qaws (Sexual & Gender Diversity in Palestinian

Silencing discussion of Israel/Palestine within queer communitiesThe term pinkwashing generally refers to the use of Israel’s “gay-friendly” image to distract from human rights abuses in Palestine, but it can also describe the censoring of Israel/Palestine discussions within queer communities, claiming the issue is too divisive or overly political.

(re)Brand IsraelPropaganda campaigns have been designed to make people living in liberal democracies like Canada feel an affinity for Israel. The implication is that Israel needs to practice apartheid, colonialism, and violence in order to preserve the liberal freedoms it enjoys.

Israel’s LGBTQ propagandaHere in Canada, some of the most vocal defenders of apartheid Israel, like B’nai Brith and the Canadian Jewish Congress, are keen to use gay rights to their advantage. Yet B’nai Brith Canada has closely aligned itself with homophobic Christian fundamentalist leaders. The organization actively decided not to support extending protection from hate speech to gays and lesbians in order not to offend its evangelical Christian allies.