Queer Liberation & Palestine 

An online resource by alQaws exploring the connections between queer liberation and Palestine in the light of last month’s uprising against Israeli settler colonialism. Queer liberation is fundamentally tied to the dreams of Palestinian liberation.

The struggle for liberation continues. We must continue to take actions, mobilize and engage queer and trans communities in Palestine and globally until we end Israel’s settler colonial project and all forms of oppression.

1.

In the past month, Palestinians took to the streets of Jerusalem, Lyd, Haifa, Ramallah, Gaza, and countless other cities in defiance of colonial borders and Israel’s practices of dispossession, displacement, land theft, military occupation, fragmentation, and besiegement. 

The message of unity rang loud and clear: the liberation of Palestine can only be achieved with the total abolition of Israel’s settler colonial project. 

2.

Queer liberation is fundamentally tied to the dreams of Palestinian liberation: self-determination, dignity, and the end of all systems of oppression. 

In a settler colonial context, no clear line can be drawn where colonialism ends and patriarchal violence begins.

The fight against patriarchy and sexual oppression is intertwined with the fight against settler-colonialism and capitalism. 

3.

Queer liberation is a political approach to sexuality and gender, rooted in the rejection of heteronormativity and patriarchy, which is the basis of every system of oppression--including Israeli settler colonialism.

Queer and feminist politics expand beyond an individual’s identity. These are relevant political frameworks for everyone, because they inform how we all relate to each other in the struggle to build a just society. 

4.

Queer liberatory politics assert that we, as queer and trans Palestinians, are an integral part of our society and our struggle. 

Our analysis of Israeli colonialism is incomplete if it does not incorporate a deep understanding of gender and sexual politics. 

Centering the experiences and analysis of marginalized groups allows us to build a stronger movement and a more inclusive horizon for liberation. 

5.

Israeli settler colonialism, and tactics such as “pinkwashing” weaponize our queer experiences to place us in opposition to our own society and communities.

Pinkwashing is a form of colonial violence. It promotes harmful narratives and policies that alienate queer Palestinians from our own communities.

Our answer to pinkwashing is to say that liberation is indivisible, and that there will be a place for all of us at the rendezvous of victory.   

6.

The Israeli criminal government and Zionist LGBTQ movement manipulate and exploit queer Palestinians’ lived realities to advance a colonial agenda.

The standards for solidarity and action cannot be set by the colonizer. 

7.

Continue the struggle against Israeli settler colonialism:
 

• Center Palestinian voices and experiences

• Strengthen your local organizing spaces by including queer and feminist perspectives

• Demand queer institutions end complicity with Israeli Pinkwashing

• Organize your communities to combat militarization of local pride activities

• Learn from groups like alQaws and listen to Palestinian queer activists explaining what struggle and liberation look like. 

8.

Reject propaganda, learn from our movement, and incorporate the lessons of Palestinians queer feminism into your daily practice.