As an LGBTQI+ asylum charity, we stand in solidarity with our LGBTQI+ siblings in Palestine and are devastated by the indiscriminate violence perpetrated in Gaza.
In April we joined more than 75 organisations to call on the Home Secretary to establish a scheme that would allow people in Gaza, including LGBTQI+ people, to join their loved ones in the UK. As a country, we have shown our solidarity before, by creating safe routes for Ukrainians fleeing violence.
Here’s a list of ways in which you can support LGBTQI+ Palestinians:
- Join a protest – Palestine Solidarity Campaign has been leading local and national demonstrations of solidarity with the Palestinian people throughout the last few months. Check their website for upcoming protests in your area. If you join a protest, make sure you know about your right to protest and follow Liberty’s tips on attending a protest. You can also read more useful information about your right to protest and this Liberty guide on LGBTQI+ protest rights. If you are a migrant you can check this useful migrant protest guide that JCWI developed alongside Black Protest Legal Support.
- Check out and get involved with London-based collective Queers for Palestine. They organise a Queer bloc to attend protests together and also have other events coming up, like a social and book club.
- Donate to local organisations supporting LGBTQI+ Palestinians – like alQaws for Sexual & Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society, a civil society organisation founded in grassroots activism.
- Sign the International Queer Solidarity with Palestine open letter
- Follow and share the stories, experiences, and calls for action from LGBTQI+ Palestinians online. Some queer and trans Palestinian accounts to follow: Queers in Palestine (led by queer and trans Palestinians), Mamaganuush (a Palestinian drag artist), Yaffa (a trans Palestinian writer), and ‘not jake’ (a queer Palestinian activist)
- Educate yourself about pinkwashing tactics employed to shift attention away from Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.
- Urge the UK Government to immediately reinstate all UK funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides vital assistance to Palestinian refugees, including LGBTQI+ refugees.
- Check out Queering the Map‘s entries on Palestine