Queer Jews Forced into a Different Closet: Antisemitism and Conditional Acceptance

The LGBTQ community prides itself on its radically inclusive nature because members have historically been excluded from all facets of public life. However, queer Jews are learning that for them, acceptance may be conditional.

This phenomenon is not new, although since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, it is more insistent. Jewish queer folks may not be discriminated against outright. Instead, they are rejected as “Zionists,” a distinction that opponents say is not antisemitic, but the facts bear out differently.

According to a Pew Research Center study in 2020, 8 in 10 American Jews say caring about Israel is either “essential” or “important” to their identity as Jews. Therefore, regardless of intent, rejecting Zionists (defined here as those who believe that Israel has the right to exist) from queer spaces has a discriminatory impact because it affects about 80 percent of Jews.

Discrimination Against Queer Jews

Queer Jews feared discrimination and violence at Pride events this year. Despite feeling safe in their queer identities, many LGBTQ Jews closeted their Jewish and Zionist selves. Harm is anticipated from outside the community, but now danger lurks from within. Jews are expected to pass a litmus test to remain in good standing: are you for or against Israel? If you fail, you are shunned, regardless of commitment to the queer community or nuanced views about the Middle East.

Dyke marches, college groups, and pride celebrations, where queer Jews were traditionally safe, accepted, and even leaders themselves, are hostile environments. Many LGBTQ Jews feel abandoned by these communities, particularly during Pride. This behavior is antithetical to the founding Pride principles of solidarity and resistance to discrimination.

The president of LionLez, a club for queer women and nonbinary people run by students of color at Columbia University, promoted an October 2023 event as “It’s FREE PALESTINE over here. Zionists aren’t invited.” I became more concerned for my 23-year-old’s safety as a student due to his Jewish identity rather than his queer one. Columbia students commented that they do not feel safe attending future events, not only as Zionists but also as Jews.

Faced with harassment and violence due to their support of Israel, two prominent queer Jewish leaders resigned from their positions with Cincinnati Pride. Even anti-Zionist Jews are being rejected in queer spaces because their support for Israel is assumed.

Numerous dyke marches banned the Israeli flag. The DC Dyke March also banned Jewish pride flags, claiming the Star of David might make other attendees “feel unsafe.” Ironically, Jews feel unsafe at these events and have been harassed for identifying as Jewish. By ostracizing Jews in queer spaces, an already small minority in the United States (2 percent) and an even more marginalized population globally (0.2 percent) is doubly marginalized.

3 Dollar Bill, a Brooklyn gay bar, canceled a Eurovision screening event in May after calls for a boycott due to Israel’s contest participation. Maxim Ibadov, an immigrant drag performer and the event’s promoter, was attacked by the pro-Israel crowd when the bar caved to cancellation pressure and again by anti-Israel boycotters when it was reinstated. Ibadov said the cancellation would have hurt the gay bar owners, the drag performers, and the queer immigrants participating, all historically, economically disadvantaged communities whom progressive, anti-Israel activists claim to care about.

Jews and the LGBTQ Movement

From Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, a major force at the first Zionist Congress who founded the world’s first organization for LGBTQ equality, to gay icon Harvey Milk who proudly affirmed his Jewish identity, Jews have been integral to the LGBTQ rights movement. Discriminating against queer Jews is a betrayal beyond measure; it is an insult to their contributions, and it violates the principles of the community they helped build.

Some longtime Jewish LGBTQ activists skipped Pride this year in response to repudiation by the community. Israeli American queer Rabbi and social justice activist Amichai Lau-Lavie says he no longer feels welcome in the many queer places that were once like home because one-time progressive allies fail to condemn antisemitism. Feeling unsafe, Lau-Lavie left a pro-Palestinian demonstration in early 2024, where rainbow flag-clad protesters chanted, “Kill the Jews.”

Pro-Israel organizer and Garden State Equality founder Steven Goldstein also hesitated to accept pride invitations this year. Antisemitism in the queer community inflicted pain on Jews like him, who were at the forefront of the fight for equality. Rather than celebrate, Goldstein says it’s time for condemnation when LGBTQ leaders spread antisemitism or are silently complicit.

Jewish queer organizations like JQY, A Wider Bridge, and Keshet tried to fill the void by hosting conversations, safe Pride events, and alternatives to dyke marches that have become hostile to queer Jews.

Conclusion

It is imperative that non-Jewish allies speak up on behalf of queer and allied Jews in LGBTQ spaces. These communities would not be the same without Jewish and Zionist members, and we must keep each other safe if these spaces are to remain truly inclusive.

Please note: The views expressed herein have not been approved by the House of Delegates, the Board of Governors, the Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice or the Human Rights Editorial Board of the American Bar Association and, accordingly, should not be construed as representing the policy of the American Bar Association. They are the views of the individual authors themselves in their personal capacities.