It’s not possible to be openly gay in Gaza

In a recent letter to The AJN, long-term gay rights advocate, Jackie Stricker-Phelps said she felt “horror” in seeing a “group of people calling themselves Queers for Palestine” on the Sydney Harbour Bridge march.

She pointed out “their lives would be in danger if they set foot into Gaza”. (AJN 08/08) Michael Barnett, in his letter in response to Stricker-Phelps, asserted that Palestinians are as “diverse as Jews” and “there are Palestinians who are tolerant of LGBTIQA+ people” (AJN 15/08).

Barnett’s reply misses the fundamental point. The issue is not whether individual Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank are tolerant of LGBT+ people. The issue is whether the legal, religious and cultural institutions of the Palestinian Territories enable LGBT+ people to live openly and safely alongside other citizens.

The bottom line is this. It is not possible to be openly gay, lesbian or transgender in Gaza or the West Bank. It is safe to do so in Israel. Gay Palestinian men cross into Israel and seek asylum as refugees for a reason. There is hope in Israel.

The Tel Aviv Pride March attracts over 200,000 people. The Tel Aviv LGBTQ+ Centre offers support to all Rainbow people. Such public inclusivity and openness is, sadly, unimaginable in the current Palestinian communities.

In 2019, when I was in Tel Aviv on a tour hosted by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, I met the then manager of the Aguda, Chen Arieli. The Aguda is the Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel. It provides a support service, with English and Arabic speaking staff, for asylum seekers and refugees. A young Christian Palestinian man told us about his work with gay Palestinian men from the West Bank who are now living in Israel and seeking asylum to escape severe discrimination and threats of violence in their home communities.

When I see people proudly displaying a Queers for Palestine banner, my heart sinks at their folly. Like Stricker-Phelps, I am a lesbian woman who has been a gay rights activist for years. I attended my first Gay Liberation demonstration as a Sydney University student in 1974. To my mind, Rainbow people declaring themselves Queers for Palestine run the risk of obscuring the daily challenges that LGBT+ people face in Palestinian society.

Law, faith and culture make it dangerous to be openly gay in Gaza and the West Bank. The banner Queers for Palestine obscures this fact to the point of being misleading and a form of misinformation.

Palestinian gays in Gaza face the risk of violence from extended family members, the threat of honour killings and the deadly threat of religious punishment by followers of Sharia law, including members of Hamas and other Islamist groups. They also risk charges and imprisonment under Article 152 of the Penal Code of 1936 which dates back to British Mandate Law that still operates in Gaza. This code criminalises “carnal knowledge against the order of nature” which is interpreted to include homosexual acts. The penalty is up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

The penal code operative in Gaza was repealed in the West Bank in 2018. Homosexuality is not explicitly criminalised in the West Bank under the Jordanian Penal Code No.16 of 1960. However the cultural taboos and religious attitudes that make it dangerous to be openly gay in Gaza also apply in the West Bank. Family rejection, forced marriage and a lack of safe spaces can make life dangerous regardless of the formal law.

It’s important to remember that Hamas is one of the proxies of Iran. The death penalty applies to homosexuality in Iran. Enforcement of this extreme punishment for breaking the traditional interpretation of Sharia law in relation to homosexuality may be welcomed. Most traditional scholars interpret the Islamic texts as a clear prohibition of homosexuality.

There are two organisations which are most commonly cited as advocates for Palestinian LGBT+ people. They are both based in Israel. The first is alQaws for Sexual & Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society. It began in 2001 as a project in Jerusalem and now describes itself as an “independent national Palestinian organisation” with a vision to build “a just Palestinian society” that “celebrates diverse sexualities, sexual orientations and genders.” It has offices in Haifa and East Jerusalem. The second is Aswat: the Israeli Arab Feminist Centre for Gender and Sexual Freedoms. It is also based in Haifa and advocates for lesbians and other LGBT people in Israel, beginning as an online platform in 2000. It was joined by the Kayan Feminist organisation in 2003. It has been condemned by Islamic religious leaders and a fatwa was declared against a female founder.

Any difficulties we may face as Rainbow people in Australia are insignificant when compared to the risks faced by LGBT+ people in all Arab communities across the Middle East. This is why I am bewildered when I see the banner Queers for Palestine. Where is the public advocacy from the supporters of this banner against the suffering of LGBT+ people in Gaza and the West Bank? Why is there no recognition that Palestinian LGBT+ advocacy groups have their offices in Israel because it is safe for them to speak up in Israel and it is not safe in Gaza or the West Bank?

The activists in Australia that I respect are seeking to learn about the challenges that LGBT+ Palestinians face. Let’s support people of all faiths and cultural backgrounds who are working in coalition to change the laws and taboos that threaten the safety of all LGBT+ people in the Middle East.

Julie McCrossin is a journalist, comedian, political commentator and activist for women’s and gay rights.