Reteaching Gender and Sexuality

Reteaching Gender and Sexuality from Sid Jordan on Vimeo.

Giving Thanks. And not.

Today I am thankful for all the social justice activists and scholars in the world, especially the ones who remind us that for every story, there is a backstory. I am thankful for Jewish anti-Zionist activists who courageously speak out on behalf of those who have been silenced. I am thankful for my mom, my first teacher and my first social justice role model.

Today I am not thankful for abusive state power. I am not thankful for ethnic cleansing. I am not thankful for corporate greed. I am not thankful for a holiday based on genocide. I am not thankful for a holiday that encourages amnesia, obesity and the continued subjugation of the majority of the world's people, animals and resources.

Mumia Abu-Jamal on "thanks-giving:"

IDF Comes to the USA

The recent fury over the new TSA "pat down" procedure for anyone who "fails" the metal detector walk-through at US airports is ludicrous. Not because the reaction is absurd, but because of the pure naïveté of the US population.

Wake up, America. You asked for this. You asked for this by demanding a US Imperial war to fuel the already raging fire in the Middle East. You asked for this in your support for the Patriot Act and the subsequent suspension of civil liberties. You asked for this through your outrage over terrorism. You begged and pleaded for the TSA to keep you safe. Well, there you have it. How safe do you feel now?

The irony here is that it reveals just how sheltered the US population has been. Sheltered from war in their backyards, sheltered from biopolitical management, sheltered from things like checkpoints and invasive pat downs, sheltered from things that are every day norms in much of the Middle East.

Watch the video here:



The child in the above video seems to be about 6 to 8 years old. When I was 7, I traveled to the West Bank with my mother. My grandmother had just passed away, I had never been out of the country before, I had never seen guns up close and personal, I had never even seen on-duty military personnel before. War, occupation, violations of human rights and civil liberties where things that I was peripherally aware of given the political leanings of my home town and the political activism that my mother was so active in, but were never things I had experienced myself. And why should I have, I was a 7 year old living in the U.S. of A., home of the brave, land of the free, whatever that even meant. But it was in the "simple" attempt of crossing the border from Jordan into occupied Palestine that war, occupation, and biopolitical violation and management ceased to be a topic of discussion and instantly became a corporeal reality.

We had waited at the Allenby Bridge for hours. It was the height of summer and it was blistering hot. I remember waiting, waiting, people arguing, waiting, feeling anxious, waiting....waiting....waiting. And suddenly, my mother and I were ushered into a small and empty room. There were two IDF women in the usual fatigues. One was holding a semi-automatic (standard issue IDF accessory). I don't remember the specific words they said to me. I don't remember my mother giving me any instructions. I remember feeling my heart racing. I started to undress. Unsure if they really meant for me to take off all of my clothes, and nearly paralyzed with fear, I didn't completely undress. I took off my shoes and socks, my pants and my T shirt. I was left in underwear and an undershirt. I was terrified. Suddenly, it felt cold, despite the fact that the temperature was in the upper 90s. I was literally and figuratively frozen. One of the IDF women said something to me. My mother interjected, loudly. They argued. I don't remember much after that, but I know that I did not strip completely naked, even though the ultimate goal was a strip search.

What is different between my strip search encounter and the above American boy's encounter is that the TSA at least put up a better front. At least they perform "good intention" by giving you the courtesy of a pat down. I say this because there is a world of difference between someone physically patting you down under the auspice of anti-terrorism measures, and someone instructing you to strip at gunpoint. The violation of the former, as fucked up and horrible as it is, can be justified as a "preventative measure." The latter violation is intended as pure intimidation and humiliation. My strip search encounter occurred in the summer of 1990 at the border crossing between Jordan and the West Bank. Suicide bomb attacks within Israel
were relatively new (in fact at that point, only one had occurred), so the contemporary rationale for Israel's drastic security measures was not even on the table yet.

Returning to the issue at hand with the TSA, let this be a wake up call for people in the US as to what kind of situation US Imperialism has produced for people in other countries. Let this be a moment of clarity as to the kind of world US imperialism and Israeli subimperialism has produced. Let this be a revelation that support for war and occupation abroad ultimately does bring war, occupation and biopolitical violation home to the U.S. of A. Please, oh please, let this be a realization that the US is not exceptional, that it is not exempt from authoritarianism, that it is not exempt from Marshall law-esque behavior. Please, oh please. Open your eyes. This is not a nightmare, this is real life.

The Beginnings of the End and the Beginnings of the Beginning

Looks like a one state solution is possible in my lifetime. Hopefully it will be possible in time for my mom's lifetime as well, so that she can finally go home after 43 years in diaspora...

Hyperreality: The New Pentagon Papers

I woke up this morning in what felt like an Oliver Stone film.

Stumbling into the living room and flipping on Pacifica Radio to catch the second half of Democracy Now was like waking up to hyperreality. Or like that curious thing that happens sometimes when you wake up, turn on the radio and flowers burst out of it. Then you realize you're still dreaming and wake yourself up (for the second time?). Rubbing my eyes and debating between coffee and tea, my brain started to tune into what was actually being said. What's this? Wikileaks? Daniel Ellsberg? Afghanistan? Something very important happened while those of us in California were still in dreamland (the actual dreamland, not the hyperreal one).

They're calling it The New Pentagon Papers. Over 90,000 classified documents on the war in Afghanistan. Possibly implicating the US in war crimes. Probably accusing Pakistan of double crossing the US. And most definitely a blow to the Pentagon's grossly inflated ego.

The Old Pentagon Papers:




The New Pentagon Papers:

Israeli Homonationalism and My Burgeoning Career Propspects...or Not.

I feel like I could write my entire dissertation on Israeli homonationalism. I also feel like that would be voluntarily signing myself up for the blacklist. Then again, as Ali Abunimah likes to point out: "Some of the finest people are to be found under the bus."

I busted ass to get into this PhD program with the intention of studying queer Arab American identity politics and visual culture. So why now am I so invested in Israeli homonationalism? Zionism, my dear Watson.

Do I risk (job) security for the sake of pursuing what I desire? Or do I sacrifice my desire for the sake of security? Check back in with me in about 3 years and we'll see which road I will take...

ACTION ALERT: STOP ZIONIST PINKWASHING OF ISRAELI APARTHEID

Some of you may be aware of the current debate raging about the pinkwashing of Israeli apartheid and the Zionist movements infiltration of the US Social Forum (the largest North American progressive activism conference, being held in Detroit this coming week).

For those who aren't aware of what's going on, here is the nutshell:

Recently there have been numerous and prolific Zionist PR campaigns which appropriate queer subjects and queer rights issues as a means to promote Zionism and essentially pinkwash Israeli apartheid. An overtly Zionist organization called Stand With Us misrepresented themselves in their application to give a workshop at this years US Social Forum, and were accepted into the conference. Stand With Us is a vicious Zionist propaganda machine and in giving a workshop at the US Social Forum, they not only completely subvert the purpose of the forum, but disseminate xenophobic, racist, hate filled ideas under the guise of progressivism. To see what kind of propaganda I am referring to, please visit this link. You will see links to numerous fliers created by Stand With Us, fliers which defend the demolition of Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem, among others insidious things.

There is a strong movement of anti-Zionist queer Jews, queer Arabs, and progressive straight allies who are standing up to say

QUEERS WILL NOT BE USED AS PUPPETS TO PROMOTE RACISM AND APARTHEID.

For more information on what has been going on and how you can get involved, please see the info below. My apologies if this message is very long and convoluted, the below is a mish mash from numerous emails and press releases.

• the description for the stand with us workshop on "LGBTQI Liberation in the Middle East" apparently taking place at the ussf. for a taste of their racism, see their gay rights in palestine flyers

• the hilem/al qaws/pqbds (queer arab groups in palestine and lebanon) statement regarding the workshop

• the US Palestinian Communities Network (USPCN) and International Jewish Anti -Zionist Network (IJAN) response to their conversations with ussf organizers on the topic of justifying the presence of the stand with us workshop (see below)

• email addresses of social forum organizers (see below). i encourage you to write them and call out their complicity in zionist pinkwashing at the ussf.

• some action ideas for dealing with the workshop (if you will be attending the USSF)


PLEASE FORWARD THIS WIDELY

Action ideas:

* dedicate a small group of people to be present at the stand with us workshop to enact whatever plan of action is decided on. it was recommended that the group be 10-15 people so as not to distract from the many other pro active palestine related workshops taking place simultaneously.

* hand out the statement by queer arab statement against the workshop (see below). hilem early on asked that the statement be read at the workshop.

* read excerpts from bareed mista3jil, writings by lbtq people from lebanon aloud at the workshop

* give primacy to arab queer voices in designing the response to and refuting this workshop

USSF organizers email addresses:

adele@ussf2010.org, online-support@ussf2010.org, detroitinfo@ussf2010.org, nationalinfo@ussf2010.org, reggmc@me.com, karlos@centerformediajustice.org, jpatters1@yahoo.com, ien@igc.org, balbert@communitychange.org, maria@comitedevivienda.org, josue@mayfirst.org, chuteh7@hotmail.com, tammy@thestrategycenter.org, ahmina@emeac.org, stephanie2@projectsouth.org, grulla@swunion.org, mbricker@temple.edu, bakerm0060@sbcglobal.net, amakisi@gmail.com, wkatzfishman@igc.org, michael@ggjalliance.org, genaro@swunion.org, priscilla@grassrootsfundraising.org, alfredo@mayfirst.org, youthussf@gmail.com, william@ussf2010.org, chuteh7@hotmail.com, adrienne@ussf2010.org, sylvia@ussf2010.org, victor@ussf2010.org, adele@ussf2010.org, sha@ussf2010.org, bloewe@onpointconsortium.org, akudo.ussf2010@gmail.com, roberto@ussf2010.org, mallory@ussf2010.org, youthussf@gmail.com, reggmc@me.com, karlos@centerformediajustice.org, jpatters1@yahoo.com, ien@igc.org, balbert@communitychange.org, maria@comitedevivienda.org, josue@mayfirst.org, chuteh7@hotmail.com, tammy@thestrategycenter.org, ahmina@emeac.org, stephanie2@projectsouth.org, grulla@swunion.org, mbricker@temple.edu, bakerm0060@sbcglobal.net, amakisi@gmail.com, wkatzfishman@igc.org, michael@ggjalliance.org, genaro@swunion.org, priscilla@grassrootsfundraising.org, alfredo@mayfirst.org, youthussf@gmail.com, adele@ussf2010.org, reggmc@me.com, bill@scupe.com, Cwilliams@im4justice.com, williams_q50@yahoo.com, tapeka1972@yahoo.com, dbundu76@yahoo.com, amakisi@gmail.com, bakerm0060@sbcglobal.net, lmn@lppals.com

KEY POINTS

> Dear fellow organizers,
>
> On behalf of USPCN and IJAN, both members of the US Social Forum National Planning Committee (NPC), we would like to issue the following update regarding the workshop currently scheduled by StandWithUs. This overtly Zionist organization claims to speak on behalf of LGBTQQI liberation in the Middle East while at the same time actively supporting the Israeli agenda that directly oppresses these same communities. This lack of transparency is an attempt to pinkwash Zionism at the Social Forum. StandWithUs has also been responsible for maliciously disrupting and attacking the work of Palestinians, academics, and solidarity activists across the United States. As of right now, we are still waiting a formal decision from the NPC, and want to share with you the strategy that we are leaning toward and our reasoning.
>
> We urge those interested in the building of joint struggle between the movement for justice in Palestine and other anti-racist and anti-war movements in the United States to not allow the slipping of this workshop between the cracks to undermine the Social Forum. Nothing would please StandWithUs and the Zionist network that StandWithUs is part of more then to divide the Palestinian, Palestine solidarity, Arab and anti-Zionist networks from the Social Forum and visa versa.
>
> The inclusion of this workshop in the social forum is not a reflection of a lack of commitment to Palestinian rights and self-determination. Through the submission of a misleading description of the workshop, StandWithUs is setting up the Social Forum and attempting to divide us.
>
> The letter from Helem, Al-Qaws, ASWAT, and PQBDS that condemned the StandWithUs workshop and requested an explanation from the Social Forum as to how this workshop made it into the program, reflects the perspectives that USPCN and IJAN have shared with our fellow US Social Forum (USSF) National Planning Committee (NPC) members. IJAN and USPCN issued the attached joint statement to the NPC.
>
> Through conversations with the NPC, the orientation to the StandWithUs workshop will:
> · Have consistency with the anti-racist, anti-homophobic and anti-colonial commitment of the NPC
> · Have consistency with the NPC invitation to the US Palestinian movement to participate in the USSF planning process
> · Reduce the potential for targeting of the USSF or organizations on the NPC by Zionist organizations
> · Reduce the potential for Zionist organizations to divide the movement in the United States
> · Reduce the potential for the Zionist movement to create antagonism toward the US Social Forum
> · Act with genuine unity based on a shared understanding of the racism involved in Zionism, what anti-Semitism is and is not, and the tactics used by Zionist organizations
> · Build our unity and not allow any organizations or sectors whose interests oppose those of the USSF to divide us
> · Not fall into a trap that intends to use this to attempt to delegitimize all of the justice for Palestine work that is happening at the Social Forum.
>
> To be clear, the presence of StandWithUs at the US Social Forum demonstrates the acute need for us all to continue making meaningful alliances and inroads with the Progressive Left in the United States. The presence of USPCN and IJAN on the National Planning Committee of the Social Forum is evidence that we have come a long way, particularly since the 2007 US Social Forum.
>
> We are looking forward to a Palestine Track that boasts over 50 workshops, the presence of Jamal Juma'a at the international plenary session, two Palestine Tents, and three People's Movement Assemblies, one of which represents an unprecedented gathering of committed BDS activists from all over the country. However, more work needs to be done in order to institutionalize the idea of Palestinian equal rights into the US Social Forum planning process and the broader agenda of the Progressive Left.
>
> StandWithUs was able to get one workshop on the Social Forum's agenda because they intentionally obscured the true nature of their workshop, which went under the radar due to the lack of familiarity of the USSF proposal review committee with the organization. And, thirdly, due to the lack of staffing for the US Social Forum that would make it possible for the committee to do more background checks on organizations and run the proposals by those involved in the planning that were more familiar with any given area of struggle.
>
> These are changes that USPCN and IJAN are strongly suggesting for future US Social Forums. However, they do not represent a lack of commitment on behalf of the NPC to justice in Palestine and Palestinian liberation.
>
> In considering how to handle the fact that this workshop is included in the agenda, it feels important to consider the intention of StandWithUs, and the Zionist network they are coordinating with, in organizing a workshop as part of the social forum.
>
> As laid out in an article that just came out in the Jewish Detroit News, StandWithUs is part of the counter-organizing in response to the success of the Palestinian, Palestine solidarity and Jewish anti-Zionist organizing happening around and at the Assembly:http://djn.pressmart.com/JN/JN/2010/06/17/ArticleHtmls/17_06_2010_021_001.shtml?Mode=1 .
>
> This article gives us a better sense of the extent of organizing they are doing and the context we are going to be working in:
>
> "Locally, the JCRC, ADL and American Jewish Committee have brought Jewish groups together to inform them of the AZ conference and prepare a unified statement of support for Zionism.
>
> Conference calls have been held that include the gamut of Jewish organizations both liberal and less so - "A to Z" or "Ameinu to ZOA" is the way AJC-Michigan's Kari Alterman describes it - including the Washtenaw Jewish Federation and Ann Arbor synagogues as well as national organizations like J Street, which has a special cache with progressive groups. Ideas and information are also shared through an Internet discussion group. An action plan for the U.S. Social Forum still is in development."
>
> We have to understand this workshop as an attempt to find a leverage point with which to attack the Social Forum for supporting the organizing of USPCN, IJAN and many other groups working for justice in Palestine. Currently, they have nothing but the usual empty accusations that the US Social Forum, USPCN and IJAN are anti-Semitic.
>
> Not having the workshop there is right on principle and there is no disagreement with this on the NPC of the USSF. However, USPCN and IJAN are willing to give up the immediate satisfaction of preventing this workshop from occurring if it means not giving the Zionists the satisfaction of being able to use claims of censorship to a media all too willing to take this up at the expense of covering the challenges that the Social Forum makes to US racism, capitalism and imperialism.
>
> We are not convinced that canceling the workshop is the best course of action in achieving the ultimate goal: to nurture, develop, and solidify a commitment to proactively defending and safeguarding the rights of Palestinians within the Progressive Left. As anti-Zionist and Palestinian activists, we feel an obligation to finding a solution that is both right and effective.
>
> To put things in perspective, the US Social Forum has, without hesitation, supported and defended the visibility and strength of justice for Palestine across the Social Forum. StandWithUs currently has one workshop at the Forum, which was the result of a breakdown in process and lack of clarity based on the organizing we have not yet been able to do but are closer to achieving then ever.
>
> Over the next couple of days, we look forward to developing a decisive and productive solution that reaffirms the Social Forum's commitment to the decolonization of Palestine.
>
> We hope you will support us in the direction that we believe will bring long term broad and strong solidarity with Palestine and broader anti-imperialist movements in the region.
>
>
> Yours in solidarity and struggle,
> USPCN and IJAN


SAY NO TO PINKWASHING AT THE USSF!

We, the undersigned queer Arab organizations, are appalled by the US Social Forum’s decision to allow Stand with Us to utilize the event as a platform to pinkwash Israel’s crimes in the region. Stand with Us is cynically manipulating the struggle of queer people in the Middle East through its workshop entitled “LGBTQI Liberation in the Middle East” (http://bit.ly/c3MLLA).

Stand with Us is a self-declared Zionist propaganda organization which describes itself as “an international education organization that ensures that Israel's side of the story is told in communities, campuses, libraries, the media and churches through brochures, speakers, conferences, missions to Israel, and thousands of pages of Internet resources" (http://bit.ly/b9eAc4).

Stand with Us has no connection with the LGBT movement in the Middle East apart from ties to Zionist Israeli LGBT organizations, yet it claims to speak for and about our movements. It has no credibility in our region, and as organizations working in and from the Middle East, we condemn its attempt to use us, our struggles, our lives, and our experiences as a platform for pro-Israeli propaganda.

Since Israel’s brutal wars on Gaza and Lebanon in 2006 and particularly after the recent unprovoked attack on the flotilla of activists going to Gaza, the Israeli government has found itself increasingly marginalized by international condemnations and weakened through the growing success of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. To remedy this, it has launched a massive PR campaign using organizations such as Stand with Us to convince the world that Israel is not a brutal settler-colony state, but rather a free democracy where human rights in general, and LGBT rights in particular, are respected and upheld. Stand With Us deceptively uses the language of LGBT and women’s rights to obscure the fact that institutionalized discrimination is enshrined within the state of Israel.

Our struggle is deeply intertwined with the struggle of all oppressed people, and we cannot accept that we are being used as a tool to discredit the Palestinian cause. Stand with Us would have everyone believe that the Palestinian cause is an unworthy one because of the homophobia that exists within Palestinian society, as if homophobia does not exist elsewhere, and as if struggles for justice are predicated on some sort of inherent “goodness” of the oppressed, rather than on the principles of freedom, justice, and equality for everyone,
everywhere. Stand with Us would have us all compartmentalize our beliefs, lives, and identities so that solidarity with the queer struggle would preclude solidarity with others.

While Stand With Us is quick to point out the oppression of queer Palestinians under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, it conveniently forgets that those same queers are not immune to the bombs, blockades, apartheid and destruction wrought upon them daily by the Israeli government, and that Israel's multi-tiered oppression hardly makes a distinction between straight and gay Palestinians.

We refuse to be instrumentalized by anyone, be it our own oppressive governments or the Zionist lobby hijacking our struggle to legitimize the state of Israel and its policies, thus providing even more fodder for our own governments to use against us. If you want to learn about our movements and struggles, engage with us, rather than with those who will use us as pawns in Israel’s campaign to pinkwash its crimes.

The inclusion of Stand With Us at the USSF is an egregious oversight on the part of the forum. We ask the forum to justify this inclusion given that it violates its own principles of anti-racism, uniting oppressed communities, prioritizing marginalized voices, and opposing US foreign policy. The USSF should be held accountable to its own standards. We look forward to hearing its plans to address the situation.


Helem
Lebanese Protection for LGBT
www.helem.net

Al-Qaws
For Sexual and Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society
www.alqaws.org

ASWAT
Palestinian Gay Women
www.aswatgroup.org

Palestinian Queers for BDS
pqbds.wordpress.com



The Workshop Description, or How they misrepresented themselves and gained entry to the USSF

LGBTQI Liberation in the Middle East

Full Description:
The purpose of this workshop is to expose the underground LBGTQI Liberation movements that currently exist across the Middle East. We will seek to explore the cultural context of the status of the LGBTQI community across time and the vast mosaic of cultures that make up the region. After establishing a historical context, we will introduce participants to the stories of young people from across the region striving for acceptance. Some stories are harrowing and gut wrenching, while others are triumphant, but all are inspirational. The end goal is to engage the participants in supporting the cause of LGBTQI Liberation, and to connect them with outlets through which they can offer their support. We plan on having information available on how to connect with the offices of different Middle Eastern LGBTQI non-profits, and will offer material produced by StandWithUs which uses information collected by such organizations as Amnesty International for participants to walk away with so that they can better educate their own communities about the realities of the Middle East.

Organizer Name:
Brett Cohen

Organizer Email:
brett.cohen@standwithus.com

First Sponsoring Organization Name:
StandWithUs


PLEASE EMAIL THE ORGANIZERS OF THE USSF TO REQUEST THAT THIS ZIONIST PROPAGANDA BE BARRED FROM THE USSF

Here is a copy of my note to the USSF organizers:

Dear USSF Organizers: Stand With Us subverts everything which the US Social Forum stands for. It is outrageous that an organization which promotes racism, human rights violations and apartheid will be giving a workshop at a conference which is designed to work against all of those things! Allowing Stand With Us to give their workshop at this years USSF not only severely cripples the credibility of the USSF, but it is the utmost slap in the face to all the hardworking activists who are working for actual peace, justice and equality in Palestine, Israel and elsewhere. As a Palestinian American, a queer woman and an activist, I implore you to pull the Stand With Us workshop from this years USSF line up. QUEERS WILL NOT BE USED AS PUPPETS TO PROMOTE RACISM AND APARTHEID.