Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) is a Toronto-based grassroots LGBT group involved in the movement against what the organization see as Israeli apartheid and is a member of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid. The group has been involved in Israeli Apartheid Week as well as Pride Week. QuAIA formed shortly after the 2008 iteration of Israeli Apartheid Week at which queer activists had a discussion about "the use of gay rights as a propaganda tool to justify Israel’s apartheid policies." [1] The group went on to form contingents for the 2008-2010 Pride parades, as well as holding forums, discussion panels and cultural events in Toronto.[1]
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In 2010, the group was initially banned from marching in the Pride Toronto Parade,[2] despite receiving statements of support from queer organizations within and outside Canada, including the three major Palestinian queer rights organizations.[3] However, following a backlash from the local queer community,[4] Pride Toronto reversed their decision to ban the words "Israeli Apartheid" as of June 23, 2010.[5]
Yakov M. Rabkin, professor of history at the Université de Montréal, spoke out in favor of QuAIA's message and their right to march in the parade in the pages of the National Post, saying,
One may sympathize with Israel fans in this country who find it hard to present the state of Israel in an attractive light. By campaigning to ban the QUAIA, they only confirm what many have long suspected: that Israel is indeed an apartheid state... Wise men of South Africa extricated their country from a violent conundrum. This should show Israel and its supporters a way to lasting peace. A prohibition of the QUAIA will be remembered as a ridiculous and irrelevant act.[6]
Gil Troy, Professor of History at McGill University, has criticized Queers against Israeli Apartheid:
Perverse groups such as Queers against Israeli Apartheid pop up which, considering how free democratic Israel is and how unfree much of the Arab world is, makes as much sense as Doctors against Anti-Smoking Campaigns or Liberals for Islamism. Israel's harsh critics fail to see that if they were less relentless and more credible they could have more impact.[7]
QuAIA marched in the parade on July 4, 2010, along with their allies in the Pride Coalition for Free Speech, largely without incident. [8] [9]
On April 13, 2011 the non-partisan Toronto City Manager released a report for the City Council Executive Committee concluding that "the participation of QUAIA in the Pride Parade based solely on the phrase 'Israeli Apartheid' does not violate the City’s Anti-Discrimination Policy. The City also cannot therefore conclude that the use of term on signs or banners to identify QuAIA constitutes the promotion of hatred or seeks to incite discrimination contrary to the Code."[10]
Speaking to the Toronto Star, QuAIA spokesperson Tim McCaskell stated that the city manager and staff had “obviously done their homework, and talked to lawyers, and not made this a political decision but one that’s based on a reasonable look at the facts of the matter and of Canadian law... It basically vindicates everything we’ve been saying for the last two years.” Toronto mayor Rob Ford indicated that he plans to defund the parade regardless of the City Manager report.[11]
Two days later on April 15, 2011, citing the City Manager's report QuAIA announced that it will not march in the 2011 Toronto Pride Parade for the stated purpose of "pos[ing] a challenge for Mayor Rob Ford." QuAIA spokesperson Elle Flanders elaborated by stating "Rob Ford wants to use us as an excuse to cut Pride funding, even though he has always opposed funding the parade, long before we showed up. By holding our Pride events outside of the parade, we are forcing him to make a choice: fund Pride or have your real homophobic, right-wing agenda exposed." QuAIA's press release further stated that the organization would instead host a community event in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign.[12]
The announcement was generally considered a surprise, even by media that had been following the story closely.[13] According to the Toronto Star, "QuAIA’s decision [not to march] represents a significant tactical shift for the group, which fought intensely last year for the right to participate in Pride." [14]
At a May 24, 2011 meeting of the executive committee, City Hall voted unanimously to accept the city manager's report, which makes it likely that Pride Toronto will receive funding [15] Deputations were given on the issue by over 50 speakers, which included QuAIA itself that had made a short video specifically for the purpose. The video can be seen here.[16]
In mid June it was revealed that the community event QuAIA planned to host would feature prominent writer and anti-AIDS activist Sarah Schulman speaking in favor of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign from an LGBT perspective. [17] The event was held June 22, 2011 at Toronto's historic Gladstone Hotel. [18]
The following evening, June 23, a second event was held that featured Sarah Schulman speaking on her history of fighting homophobia and AIDS activism in the ACT UP! organization in New York City. The second event was cosponsored with numerous queer and AIDS activist organizations. [19]
During her visit, Schulman was also interviewed by local queer media Xtra!, primarily focusing on how she came to support the BDS campaign as a queer activist.[20]
In lieu of participation in the actual Parade, QuAIA dropped a 40 foot banner from above Toronto's Wellesley subway station promoting a campaign to boycott LGBT leisure tourism to Israel. The banner drop occurred on July 3, the day of the 2011 Pride Parade, in the heart of Toronto's historic LGBT district. The banner read "Support Palestinian Queers, Boycott Israeli Tourism." [21]
In September 2009, a statement was released on the QuAIA website calling for a boycott of LGBT leisure tourism to Israel. [22] This campaign was prominently promoted in a banner drop at the 2011 Pride Parade.[23]
Filmmaker and QuAIA member John Greyson has been listed as one of the participants in the 2011 Freedom Flotilla II. Greyson is reported to be a passenger aboard the Canadian boat "Tahrir." [24] Greyson's participation in the Flotilla came to the public spotlight in the aftermath of a hoax video in which an Israeli actor claimed that gays weren't welcome to participate in the flotilla.[25]
At the 2011 Inside Out LGBT film festival QuAIA jointly sponsored a program consisting of film shorts produced by artists in Lebanon, Palestine and their diasporas. The program was titled "With Love from Le(z)Banon and Pa(lez)tine" and was followed by a talk by Professor Samar Habib on queer representation in Egyptian cinema. QuAIA co-sponsored the program with Queer Ontario. [26] Local Toronto alternative media company Deviant Productions conducted an interview with Professor Habib after the event, in which she further discussed queer representation in Arab cinema.[27]