Hier de verklaring van Guy Spigelman tegen de politiek van uitsluiting zoals bedreven door Queer Amsterdam:
An Open Letter to "Queer Amsterdam"
Queer Amsterdam published Safety Guidelines under their Vision, that equates Zionism with Racism and discrimination. We are asking Israeli and Jewish LGBTQ+ people and our allies in the Netherlands to sign this open letter to defend our right to national expression and to call for a dialogue with the organizers. Let's take the high road and not fall for the provocations in their statements, including the "ban" on displaying Israeli flags they announced.
Below the letter there is a place to sign for Jewish and Israeli Queers and another place to sign for allies!
We are a group of Israeli and Jewish Queers in Amsterdam and the Netherlands and we are writing this open letter because we feel excluded from Queer Amsterdam.
Our LGBTQIAP+ community should be a bastion of inclusion and nuance. It is precisely the incredible spectrum of identities that defines us, that celebrates difference as part of a collective, that recognizes the authentic feelings of self and identity.
As part of Queer Amsterdam’s Safety Guidelines, under point titled: “We maintain a ZERO TOLERANCE policy against any form of discrimination” – Zionism is equated with racism and all other forms of discrimination.
Singling out Zionism which represents Jewish national expression, as the only form of national expression to be equivalent to racism, is in itself discriminatory. There are 23 states that have Islam as the State Religion and 15 states that have Christianity as the State Religion, yet Queer Amsterdam has decided that the only Jewish state, Israel, by its very existence is racist.
Zionism may be a modern term but it has been an integral part of the Jewish experience for millennia. Jews came from the land of Israel and were colonized and largely expelled – but this never once stopped the hope for return. At every festival, at every wedding, in our daily prayers we yearn for Israel.
50% of the world’s Jews live in Israel, so can be considered Zionists, and all surveys point to more than 80-90% of the Jews outside of Israel believe in Israel as the national homeland for the Jewish people, so also Zionists. Being Anti-Zionist therefore is equivalent to being 90% Antisemitic. There are ultra-Right Zionists, and ultra-Left Zionists, Centrist Zionists, there are Orthodox Zionists and Secular Zionists. There are Zionists with roots from Krakow and Berlin, and Zionists with roots from Damascus and Baghdad. It represents all of world Jewry. And while there are Jewish voices against Zionism, these are a small but vocal minority that have been tokenized.
At the most personal level, all of us feel a deep connection to the land of Israel. It is something in our bones as we walk on ground, breathe the air and swim in the waterways. Denying this connection would be the same as telling any other indigenous person that their feelings of connection to the land are somehow not real, or for that matter, telling a Trans woman that she is not a woman.
With this letter, we do not seek to shut down criticism of the government of Israel nor do we seek to deny the national expression of Palestinians or any other group. We believe that from the River to the Sea, all people should be free, and both nations should be able to express their identities and for our narratives to co-exist. Yes, this is a nuanced approach, not black or white, not us vs them. But surely the Queer community should appreciate spectrum and nuance?
Amsterdam and the Netherlands is our home, we are part of this community, yet since October 7, many of us have experienced verbal abuse and attacks in Queer spaces, on social media and dating apps, even from people we once counted as friends. While it is understandable to be frustrated and angry with the ongoing war in Gaza and Israel, how does it help the situation, when after answering a simple question: “Where are you from” and saying “Israel” - you get verbally abused?
We end this letter by calling for an open dialogue. In the spirit of inclusion, we hope that Queer Amsterdam can create a safe space for all voices to be heard.
An Open Letter to "Queer Amsterdam"
Hier de verklaring van Guy Spigelman tegen de politiek van uitsluiting zoals bedreven door Queer Amsterdam:
An Open Letter to "Queer Amsterdam"
Queer Amsterdam published Safety Guidelines under their Vision, that equates Zionism with Racism and discrimination. We are asking Israeli and Jewish LGBTQ+ people and our allies in the Netherlands to sign this open letter to defend our right to national expression and to call for a dialogue with the organizers. Let's take the high road and not fall for the provocations in their statements, including the "ban" on displaying Israeli flags they announced.
Below the letter there is a place to sign for Jewish and Israeli Queers and another place to sign for allies!
For more information, please be in touch with guyspigelman@gmail.com
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An Open Letter to Queer Amsterdam
“You are Excluding Us”
We are a group of Israeli and Jewish Queers in Amsterdam and the Netherlands and we are writing this open letter because we feel excluded from Queer Amsterdam.
Our LGBTQIAP+ community should be a bastion of inclusion and nuance. It is precisely the incredible spectrum of identities that defines us, that celebrates difference as part of a collective, that recognizes the authentic feelings of self and identity.
As part of Queer Amsterdam’s Safety Guidelines, under point titled: “We maintain a ZERO TOLERANCE policy against any form of discrimination” – Zionism is equated with racism and all other forms of discrimination.
Singling out Zionism which represents Jewish national expression, as the only form of national expression to be equivalent to racism, is in itself discriminatory. There are 23 states that have Islam as the State Religion and 15 states that have Christianity as the State Religion, yet Queer Amsterdam has decided that the only Jewish state, Israel, by its very existence is racist.
Zionism may be a modern term but it has been an integral part of the Jewish experience for millennia. Jews came from the land of Israel and were colonized and largely expelled – but this never once stopped the hope for return. At every festival, at every wedding, in our daily prayers we yearn for Israel.
50% of the world’s Jews live in Israel, so can be considered Zionists, and all surveys point to more than 80-90% of the Jews outside of Israel believe in Israel as the national homeland for the Jewish people, so also Zionists. Being Anti-Zionist therefore is equivalent to being 90% Antisemitic. There are ultra-Right Zionists, and ultra-Left Zionists, Centrist Zionists, there are Orthodox Zionists and Secular Zionists. There are Zionists with roots from Krakow and Berlin, and Zionists with roots from Damascus and Baghdad. It represents all of world Jewry. And while there are Jewish voices against Zionism, these are a small but vocal minority that have been tokenized.
At the most personal level, all of us feel a deep connection to the land of Israel. It is something in our bones as we walk on ground, breathe the air and swim in the waterways. Denying this connection would be the same as telling any other indigenous person that their feelings of connection to the land are somehow not real, or for that matter, telling a Trans woman that she is not a woman.
With this letter, we do not seek to shut down criticism of the government of Israel nor do we seek to deny the national expression of Palestinians or any other group. We believe that from the River to the Sea, all people should be free, and both nations should be able to express their identities and for our narratives to co-exist. Yes, this is a nuanced approach, not black or white, not us vs them. But surely the Queer community should appreciate spectrum and nuance?
Amsterdam and the Netherlands is our home, we are part of this community, yet since October 7, many of us have experienced verbal abuse and attacks in Queer spaces, on social media and dating apps, even from people we once counted as friends. While it is understandable to be frustrated and angry with the ongoing war in Gaza and Israel, how does it help the situation, when after answering a simple question: “Where are you from” and saying “Israel” - you get verbally abused?
We end this letter by calling for an open dialogue. In the spirit of inclusion, we hope that Queer Amsterdam can create a safe space for all voices to be heard.