LGBTQ support for Palestine

“End the Siege of Gaza” was the theme of an evening rush-hour demonstration at a major intersection in San Francisco on July 20, organized by Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT!). Holding signs and banners, the two dozen LGBT activists protested the inhumane embargo of Gaza in Palestine by the United States, European Union and Israel.

Because Israeli troops are preventing people and goods from crossing the borders of this densely populated strip of desert, Palestinians in Gaza have been denied the most basic necessities of life, like food and medical care. Going into its sixth week, the sealed border has trapped thousands trying to carry on daily life. As a measure of the chaos this has caused, the siege is already responsible for the deaths of at least 28 people who had to wait hours to cross the border, unprotected in the hot sun.

Israel, which receives U.S. aid of $14 million per day, is openly punishing the Palestinians for having elected a government led by the Islamic party Hamas.

Kate Raphael explained why LGBTQ people are standing against the U.S.-backed Israeli occupation of Palestine and siege of Gaza: “We’re here because we’re outraged at the human rights and humanitarian crisis the siege of Gaza has caused, which the media and U.S. government have ignored. As queer people, we know what it’s like to be ignored or misrepresented.”

Chaya G. added: “There are queer people in Palestine, Iraq and everyplace else, too. That’s why we’re here.”

—Report and photo by Joan Marquardt