IGLYO, Take a Stand Against Occupation and Apartheid!

To IGLYO, member organizations, and board members,

A few days ago IGLYO, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Youth and Student Organization, issued an open letter to their member organizations, re-announcing that their annual General Assembly conference of 2011 will be hosted in Tel Aviv, Israel. We, LGBTQI activists, citizens of Israel, stand in solidarity with the Palestinian activists of PQBDS, alQaws, and Aswat, in calling for the withdrawal of your annual conference from Tel Aviv, until Israel respects Palestinian rights, as iterated in the 2005 Palestinian lead call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).

We find it unfortunate that IGLYO, among the major international organization for the rights of the LGBTQI minority- which proudly wears the badge of human rights- would participate in Israels cynical use of the LGBTQI community to pinkwash its crimes, and make such an unfortunate decision and such an unfortunate statement.

IGLYO recognise that we must at times remain neutral during decision making.

South African anti-apartheid leader, Desmond Tutu, an important gay rights ally who equated homophobia with racism has been often quoted If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. We appreciate that IGLYO is unable to take the role of mediator (in fact, it was never asked to do so), if having a stance is all that IGLYO can now offer, we ask that it not stay neutral, that it equate racism with homophobia, and stand in solidarity with the oppressed Palestinians, whos flag isnt represented in the list of IGLYO member organizations.

IGLYO must take a long hard look at itself, when Queers who happen to be Palestinian are asking for their solidarity, their position clearly stated, and IGLYO refuse to heed it, while setting the agenda with mainstream Israeli LGBT organizations, that not only fail to stand in solidarity with this minority-within-a-minority by not protesting their governments policies and treatment of Palestinians, but take its money as well. Wed also like to point out that accepting IGYs government money is hardly a position of neutrality.

IGLYOs minimizing of the fact that Palestinians freedom of movement is so restricted that those living in the Occupied Territories wont be able to attend the conference, is spoken out of a position of an ignorant privilege. Its deeply regrettable that the platform, would so easily dismiss such a grave violation of the basic human right of freedom of movement, as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Art. 13). The same debates planned by IGLYO can be discussed elsewhere, this year. And every year until the state of Israel respects Palestinian rights. It is what Palestinian queers are requesting, and it is only right that an international LGBT organization heed the call of this doubly vulnerable community.

We call on IGLYO, member organizations, and board members to take a firm stand against military occupation and apartheid, and head the request of the Palestinian people for BDS, until their rights are enacted.

We call on all queer students and youth in Europe to support their Palestinian peers, under military occupation, an apartheid regime and in exile. If you are a member of an IGLYO member-organization (a comprehensive list of organizations is at the bottom of the IGLYO website), please write to your organization urging them to take a stance of solidarity with Palestinian students and youths. Urge them to demand IGLYO heed the palestinian call and to move the 2011 GA conference to a different venue, until Israel respects Palestinian rights.