Background: A gay journal asked me to write something about this subject, though I have no idea where (if at all) it was published
I feel proud as a woman and a lesbian to be part of peace and human rights activism in Israel. In fact, women in general, and lesbians in particular, have been at the forefront of this work. Israeli women not only comprise the largest part of the peace movement here, but the message of Israeli women’s peace organizations has always been more progressive. The earliest joint political agreements between Israelis and Palestinians were hammered out between women on both sides. The mixed gender movements caught up much later. The actions of Israeli women’s peace organizations have always been varied, creative, and often daring – involving high-risk actions and sometimes civil disobedience, in defiance of laws we consider unjust and oppressive.
Lesbians are very visible in this movement. The two founders of the Coalition of Women for Peace, composed of 9 women’s peace organizations, are lesbians, as are many of the activists. Lesbians are highly visible in Women in Black. The executive director of Bat Shalom is a lesbian. And if you look around at any organizing meetings of any of these organizations, lesbians provide a strong, central voice of leadership.
Last year, a group of Israeli lesbians founded Kveesa Shchora [black laundry]: Lesbians and Homosexuals Against the Occupation. In their first action, this group marched in last June’s gay pride parade dressed in black and carrying signs “No Pride in Occupation”. They also carried signs saying “Dyke LaKibbush”, a play on words of “Dai LaKibbush”, which means “End the Occupation”. In recent days, this group also staged a brave effort from within Palestinian homes in Jerusalem to prevent the Israeli army from destroying them, although they were forcibly evicted and the homes destroyed.
While there has been horrible violence on both sides in this region, and none of it is acceptable, we must address the root cause of this violence, and that is the Israeli occupation. The oppression of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation is untenable. As lesbians and women, we have a special sensitivity to oppression, and therefore place ourselves at the heart of the movement to end the occupation.