LGBT Rights versus Palestinian Rights? The Childish (Im)morality of Zionism
I just read the article "Queer" As A Tool Of Colonial Oppression: The Case Of Israel/Palestine by Blair Kuntz at ZNet, and it really touched on a conflict I've faced a few times in the past and will inevitably face in the future, especially if I convert to Islam. I am referring to the (alleged) conflict between my sexual orientation and my support for the human rights of Palestinians, who do have a dismal track record when it comes to human rights of sexual minorities. A Google search for "gay" and "Palestine" will reveal horror stories of abuses suffered by gay and lesbian Palestinians, often in the service of glorifying Israel and demonizing Palestine.
While I adamantly condemn Palestine's reprehensible treatment of sexual minorities, the (mis)use of those abuses as a justification for Israeli terror offends me on so many levels. It betrays a stunted and disturbing version of social justice and morality.
First, it encourages a morality of emotions divorced from reason and facts. The aforementioned "horror stories" elicit feelings of shock, disgust, and anger, so that we will exclaim "Oh, those awful Palestinians!" Then, you see this flyer, with it's depiction of a sea of rainbow flags in Israel, a litany of nice things Israel has done for sexual minorities, and final statement that "Israel respects life." And, you are invited to exclaim, "Oh, those wonderful Israelis!" Who cares if Israel also bulldozes Palestinians' homes, cuts down olive trees, divides families, murders peace activists (hint: Rachel Corrie), seizes arable land and water resources, and allows settlers to terrorize everyday Palestinians (including children and elderly women), right? Look at all those pretty rainbow flags!
Rather than being rational and taking a step back in order to view the situation in its entirety, we are encouraged to buy into a false dichotomy: Whose human rights will we support, gays and lesbians or Palestinians? To support one, you must be prepared to condone any and all abuses against the other. If you support gays and lesbians, then you should look the other way while Israel decimates Palestine. If you support Palestinians, then you condone their persecution of gays. No middle ground, no nuance, no complexity. (On another note, what about people who are gay or lesbian AND Palestinian? To answer that question, I will simply refer you to Kuntz's article.)
This retreat from rationality leads to a kind of willful blindness. I becomes a case of "Israel, you're nice to us and the Palestinians are mean, so if you want to abuse and terrorize them, go ahead. We promise we won't look or hold you accountable." Such an attitude is morally irresponsible and a poor excuse for an ethical approach. Being gay, feminist, and leftist, I may have precious little affection for the Christian fundamentalists in the United States, but that does not mean that I want their houses to be bulldozed, their land stolen, or their children to be attacked on the way to or from school! If such things started happening to them, I would be very disturbed, to say the least. Similarly, there are probably many homophobic African-American congregations that I would find very distasteful, but if one such congregation were being harassed or attacked by racists or white supremacists, then it would be morally incumbent upon all decent people, regardless of sexuality, to support them in their struggle. Similarly, the basic, God-given human rights of the Palestinians are not, and should not be, dependent upon attitudes and behaviors regarding sexual diversity--however much we may desire some attitudes and behaviors more than others.
In the end, this reveals a kind of tit-for-tat morality, which has been articulated differently throughout history: "eye for an eye," "lex talionis," "do unto others as they do unto you," "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours," "quid pro quo," etc. In this case, the idea is that because Israel respects (some of) the rights of (some) sexual minorities, unlike Palestine, gays and lesbians should therefore give Israel their blessing to terrorize Palestinians--which inevitably includes children, gay and lesbian Palestinians, and any Palestinians that might be indifferent (or even supportive!) towards gays and lesbians.
Tit-for-tat was the law of the land in millenia past, and it still enjoys much currency among grade school children. (One can imagine one's grade school classmates saying "You hit me, so I'm gonna hit you back" or "If you let me in front of you in line, I won't tell on you".) To many of us as kids, it made perfect sense. However, as a basis for morality and for living in the world productively, it went "out of style" long ago. Most religions and other systems of ethics today recognize that such an approach will get us nowhere, usually advocating instead for a morality more or less guided by admonitions to "treat others as you would like to be treated," "judge not lest ye be judged," and "love thy neighbor." Do good and promote goodness, and refrain from and oppose evil.
Therefore, in the case of gays and lesbians "versus" Palestine, it is clear that we must employ reason and exhibit a more refined morality than Israel and its supporters would encourage. We must reject false dichotomies that would force us to choose between gays and lesbians or Palestinians, supporting the human rights of one group at the expense of the other and ignoring those who belong to BOTH groups. Rather, we must take the high road, a road paved with reason and morality, and collectively say "NO!" to any evil committed against any person or group--even if that person or group itself behaves evilly! We must insist on the following two moral demands, simultaneously and with equally passionate and reasoned conviction:
1. All Israeli abuses of Palestinians, whether by the Israeli government or by individual Israelis, must cease immediately--no ifs, ands, or buts.
2. All Palestinian abuses of gays and lesbians, whether by the Palestinian government or by individual Palestinians, must cease immediately--no ifs, ands, or buts.
None of this irrational "either-or" morality, but a morality that demands goodness and rejects evil, all across the board. Then, we will be better equipped to walk in the way of Allah and to live in the world effectively.
While I adamantly condemn Palestine's reprehensible treatment of sexual minorities, the (mis)use of those abuses as a justification for Israeli terror offends me on so many levels. It betrays a stunted and disturbing version of social justice and morality.
First, it encourages a morality of emotions divorced from reason and facts. The aforementioned "horror stories" elicit feelings of shock, disgust, and anger, so that we will exclaim "Oh, those awful Palestinians!" Then, you see this flyer, with it's depiction of a sea of rainbow flags in Israel, a litany of nice things Israel has done for sexual minorities, and final statement that "Israel respects life." And, you are invited to exclaim, "Oh, those wonderful Israelis!" Who cares if Israel also bulldozes Palestinians' homes, cuts down olive trees, divides families, murders peace activists (hint: Rachel Corrie), seizes arable land and water resources, and allows settlers to terrorize everyday Palestinians (including children and elderly women), right? Look at all those pretty rainbow flags!
Rather than being rational and taking a step back in order to view the situation in its entirety, we are encouraged to buy into a false dichotomy: Whose human rights will we support, gays and lesbians or Palestinians? To support one, you must be prepared to condone any and all abuses against the other. If you support gays and lesbians, then you should look the other way while Israel decimates Palestine. If you support Palestinians, then you condone their persecution of gays. No middle ground, no nuance, no complexity. (On another note, what about people who are gay or lesbian AND Palestinian? To answer that question, I will simply refer you to Kuntz's article.)
This retreat from rationality leads to a kind of willful blindness. I becomes a case of "Israel, you're nice to us and the Palestinians are mean, so if you want to abuse and terrorize them, go ahead. We promise we won't look or hold you accountable." Such an attitude is morally irresponsible and a poor excuse for an ethical approach. Being gay, feminist, and leftist, I may have precious little affection for the Christian fundamentalists in the United States, but that does not mean that I want their houses to be bulldozed, their land stolen, or their children to be attacked on the way to or from school! If such things started happening to them, I would be very disturbed, to say the least. Similarly, there are probably many homophobic African-American congregations that I would find very distasteful, but if one such congregation were being harassed or attacked by racists or white supremacists, then it would be morally incumbent upon all decent people, regardless of sexuality, to support them in their struggle. Similarly, the basic, God-given human rights of the Palestinians are not, and should not be, dependent upon attitudes and behaviors regarding sexual diversity--however much we may desire some attitudes and behaviors more than others.
In the end, this reveals a kind of tit-for-tat morality, which has been articulated differently throughout history: "eye for an eye," "lex talionis," "do unto others as they do unto you," "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours," "quid pro quo," etc. In this case, the idea is that because Israel respects (some of) the rights of (some) sexual minorities, unlike Palestine, gays and lesbians should therefore give Israel their blessing to terrorize Palestinians--which inevitably includes children, gay and lesbian Palestinians, and any Palestinians that might be indifferent (or even supportive!) towards gays and lesbians.
Tit-for-tat was the law of the land in millenia past, and it still enjoys much currency among grade school children. (One can imagine one's grade school classmates saying "You hit me, so I'm gonna hit you back" or "If you let me in front of you in line, I won't tell on you".) To many of us as kids, it made perfect sense. However, as a basis for morality and for living in the world productively, it went "out of style" long ago. Most religions and other systems of ethics today recognize that such an approach will get us nowhere, usually advocating instead for a morality more or less guided by admonitions to "treat others as you would like to be treated," "judge not lest ye be judged," and "love thy neighbor." Do good and promote goodness, and refrain from and oppose evil.
Therefore, in the case of gays and lesbians "versus" Palestine, it is clear that we must employ reason and exhibit a more refined morality than Israel and its supporters would encourage. We must reject false dichotomies that would force us to choose between gays and lesbians or Palestinians, supporting the human rights of one group at the expense of the other and ignoring those who belong to BOTH groups. Rather, we must take the high road, a road paved with reason and morality, and collectively say "NO!" to any evil committed against any person or group--even if that person or group itself behaves evilly! We must insist on the following two moral demands, simultaneously and with equally passionate and reasoned conviction:
1. All Israeli abuses of Palestinians, whether by the Israeli government or by individual Israelis, must cease immediately--no ifs, ands, or buts.
2. All Palestinian abuses of gays and lesbians, whether by the Palestinian government or by individual Palestinians, must cease immediately--no ifs, ands, or buts.
None of this irrational "either-or" morality, but a morality that demands goodness and rejects evil, all across the board. Then, we will be better equipped to walk in the way of Allah and to live in the world effectively.
posted by Chris @ 6:29 AM
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