For feminist, queer, and gender non-conforming anti-zionists, a common retort we face when in conversation — or extreme disagreement — with Zionists, is that people like us should “go to Gaza, see how they like your kind there.” This is a sentiment known all too well by those of us who vocally oppose the ongoing genocide perpetrated by Israel in Gaza. The implication is that outspoken queer and feminist individuals would be killed or harmed for their beliefs and identities if placed in a Palestinian context. This, of course, is a hypothetical that is designed to entrap anti-zionists in a personal, moralized contradiction — it is an attempt to induce cognitive dissonance, and it is an attempt to instill the belief that we must choose between the liberation of people ‘like’ ourselves and the liberation of Palestinians.

Often, this shoddy rhetorical attempt at disarming anti-zionists is phrased as a question, innocently posed as if we are unaware of the world and our place in it. “Don’t you know what they’d do to you there? Don’t you realize that they hate people like you?” Having lived our lives as feminists and as queer, gender-nonconforming individuals in the misogynistic and queerphobic landscape that is the United States, we are well aware that hatred exists in all places, and we see through the racist and antagonistic connotations of this argument. We refuse to buy into the narrative that frames Israel as an all-inclusive haven for queer folks and women while casting Palestinian society as barbaric or uncivilized concerning these topics.

According to Corrine Blackmer, the director of Judaic Studies at Southern Connecticut State University, Israel’s weaponization of a purportedly progressive LGBTQ+ legislative record — which, in itself, has been highly precarious — to conceal its abuse of Palestinians constitutes what is known as pinkwashing. Israel’s hasbara, or propaganda, strategy of pinkwashing ultimately attempts to justify the occupation of Palestinians by promoting the image of Israel as a lone oasis for queer folks, surrounded by violent, homophobic Arabs. This diminishes the existence of queer Palestinians, who suffer greatly under the system of Israeli apartheid. Israel presents itself as an essential part of the ‘enlightened’ West — claiming that it is “the only democracy in the Middle East” — while Palestinians, who are excluded from this “democracy,” are represented as the unwelcome “other,” undeserving of statehood, sovereignty and humanity.

A strategy similar to pinkwashing also appears in the consistent denial and erasure of the systematic abuse of Palestinian women. Women in Gaza have been subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment, with many women using scraps of tents as menstrual products since the start of this genocide. In detention, there are numerous substantiated reports of sexual assault, where both women and men have been stripped naked and searched by Israel Defence Forces (IDF) officers. Media has surfaced depicting IDF soldiers raiding Gazan homes, holding up lingerie and standing in sexually suggestive positions with the garments. Israel presents a narrative of inclusivity but maintains structural and systematic sexual abuse of Palestinian women and men. Likewise, Palestinian society is painted as “backward” for its ostensibly rampant homophobia, while Palestinian queer folks are racialized and barred from accessing equality by Israeli society itself.

Zionist students spoke during the Student Association (SA) Congress Meeting on the sexual violence of Oct. 7, using these stories to both justify voting against SA divestment from Israel and demonize those supporting Palestinian liberation. As an organization dedicated to ending sexual violence, we are outraged at the limited, asymmetrical and sensationalistic perspective that arguments like this one portray. Statements that center the conversation on the experiences of only Israeli women and which seek to demonize Palestinians do not account for the systemic, widespread nature of sexual violence — it is a global crisis that is often exacerbated by militaristic occupation. Furthermore, discussing the Apartheid state of Israel’s systematic abuse of Palestinians does not, in any way, deny the experiences of Jewish women who have faced sexual violence. Incorrect and inflammatory statements that imply the Divest from Death Coalition supports sexual violence in any way misrepresents the cause of divestment and uses violence against Israeli women as an excuse to perpetuate violence against Palestinian women, children and men. Divestment is about ending Binghamton’s complicity in the slaughter of Palestinians, and the perpetuation of a genocide that endangers all in the region.

The issue of Israeli occupation is inherently feminist and queer. Angela Davis notes that the radical possibilities explored by non-binary and trans communities can provide us with hope for abolitionist movements and Palestinian liberation. Gender-nonconforming folks are challenging binarist traditions all over the world, proving that the status quo is nothing but an illusion created by the powerful. We must reject any perspective that attempts to isolate certain women, queer folks and marginalized individuals who are deserving of rights while excluding others, and begin to examine who is suffering under these broader systems. To free Palestine is to free women from patriarchy, trans folks from cissexism and queer folks from heterosexism.

This guest column was written by the BU Feminist Collective.

Views expressed in the opinions pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece that represents the views of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the Staff Editorial.