Jewish and Israeli symbols were banned from a large LGBT march in Washington DC.
Jewish LGBT groups were told by the organizers of the Washington DC Dyke March that they could not carry flags featuring the Star of David at the March, which will be held tomorrow. The flags were banned despite not being the Israeli flag or associated with Israel.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center condemned the banning of Jewish symbols at the march.
“Today, there will be a similar march in the heart of Jerusalem, an event impossible to conceive of in an Arab country or in Iran where they publicly execute gay individuals,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
“For decades, gay activists have insisted that there needs to be one standard in pursuit of human rights and human dignity. Yet such hypocrisy by some leaders in the LGBT community to treat Jews differently is classic anti-Semitism. It will damage the important campaigns for equality and should be denounced by LGBT activists everywhere,” Cooper concluded.
Two years ago, three Jewish women with flags bearing the Star of David were ejected from the Chicago Dyke March. Organizers stated that the presence of the Star of David “made people feel unsafe,” and that the march was “anti-Zionist” and “pro-Palestinian.”
Jewish groups denounced the ban on Jewish symbols at the Chicago march as anti-Semitic.