May 18, 2017 at 09:04 (Civil Liberties, DesertPeace Exclusive, Gay Rights, Homophobia)
Today, and every day, I stand with our LGBT community to stop discrimination around the world
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Live and let live.
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Canada leads the way … “Privileged to be part of a generation living in a country where I can be open about who I am, marry who I love.”
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The Maple Leaf Forever! (Click)
Latuff adds the following ….
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Bottom line is …
Today, I ask all of you to fight hatred, honour love, and defend LGBTQ2 rights as human rights.
March 9, 2017 at 10:52 (Homophobia, Irony, Israel)
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A controversial rabbi who runs a pre-army religious academy told new IDF recruits that military service drives female soldiers “crazy” and strips them of their Jewishness.
In footage broadcast by Channel 2 news on Tuesday, Rabbi Yigal Levinstein told several hundred graduates of a prestigious religious army preparatory academy in the West Bank settlement of Bnei Atzmon that IDF service has “driven our girls crazy.”
“They recruit them to the army, where they enter as Jews, but they’re not Jews by the time they leave,” he said. “Not in the genetic sense, but all of their values and priorities have been upset and we must not allow it.”
If you want, the report continues HERE
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Read the following to see what he said about gays …. (Click on link)
Israel Army Rabbi Calls Gays ‘Perverts’ — Says No Need To Prevent Civilian Deaths
Here’s what Morgan Freeman had to say …
June 17, 2016 at 09:51 (Crocodile Tears, Hate crimes, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Israel, Pinkwashing)
“In Orlando, a terrorist walks into a nightclub and murders nearly 50 human beings. Sons and daughters, brothers and sisters cut down in cold blood.
They did nothing wrong. They were dancing with friends, they were enjoying music with loved ones.
Why did the terrorist murder them?
Because he was driven by a fanatical hatred.
He targeted the LGBT community because he believed they were evil.
Now, the murderer wasn’t alone.
Regimes and terrorist organizations around the world ruthlessly persecute the LGBT community.
In Syria, ISIS throws gays off rooftops.
In Iran, the regime hangs gays from cranes.
Too many people have remained silent in the face of this awful persecution.
This week’s shooting wasn’t merely an attack on the LGBT community. It was an attack on all of us, on our common values of freedom and diversity and choice.
Radical Islamist terror makes no distinction between shades of infidel.
This week it was gays in Orlando. A few days before that it was Jews in Tel Aviv. Before that it was music fans in Paris; Travelers in Brussels; Yazidis in Iraq; Community workers in San Bernardino; Christians and journalists in Syria.
All of us are targets.
We believe that all people are created in the image of God.
ISIS, by contrast, believes that all people who aren’t just like them deserve to die.
We will not be terrified into submission.
We will fight back. And we will triumph.
Today I ask you to reach out to friends in the LGBT community. Comfort them.
Tell them you stand together, we stand together as one. And that you will always remember the victims.
Tell them they will never be alone, that we are all one family deserving of dignity, deserving of life.
I have no doubt that those who seek to spread hate and fear will be defeated.
Working together we will defeat them even faster.
We need to stand united, resolute in the belief that all people regardless of their sexual orientation, regardless of their race, regardless of their ethnicity, all people deserve respect, deserve dignity.”
-Bibi Netanyahu
June 15, 2016 at 09:32 (Associate Post, Cartoons, Collective Punishment, Current Affairs, Homophobia, Islamophobia)
All images by Carlos Latuff
This cartoonist does not condone homophobia AND Islamophobia, since both are rotten fruits of ignorance.
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Feeding a Monster Called ISLAMOPHOBIA
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I was born surrounded by “armed citizens”.
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I play games where I can kill many creatures, including humans.
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Donald Trump’s response to the Orlando massacre
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Why do we not call US crimes Christian crimes???
June 14, 2016 at 10:55 (Activism, Associate Post, DesertPeace Exclusive, Homophobia, Intolerance, Islamophobia, Photography)
Many thousands of New Yorkers stood together to mourn the victims of the Orlando massacre last night ….
Photos © by Bud Korotzer
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And the ‘backlash’ begins …
It is an agonizing list of predominantly young and Latino people who could not have imagined their lives would be cut short in such a horrifying manner as they went out for a night of enjoyment.
But even before all the victims are known, the US and Israeli far right are moving to exploit Mateen’s crime to further a narrative that indicts Muslims collectively and fuels hatred and confrontation.
This is despite the reality that factors other than religious motivation likely played a major part in Mateen’s horrific act.
One group with ties to Israel’s intelligence services is even trying to implicate Palestinians.
New Yorkers show their solidarity with victims of the massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, by placing flowers outside The Stonewall Inn, which is considered an epicenter of the US LGBTQ rights movement, in New York’s Greenwich Village neighborhood on 12 June. (Albin Lohr-Jones /SIPA)
Full report HERE
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Another report HERE
Sometimes all it takes is a single visual to drive home the point. For Israel’s most read newspaper, visuals have become a way to race-bait and incite against Muslims, specifically against Israel’s Arab population.
A photo comparison of Omar Mateen, who murdered 50 people in an Orlando gay club, and Neshat Melhem, a Palestinian citizen of Israel who shot three Israelis to death earlier this year in ‘Israel Hayom.’ The paper called the two ‘chillingly similar.’ (photo: Israel Hayom)
June 13, 2016 at 08:45 (Cover Up, DesertPeace Editorial, Homophobia, Intolerance, Islamophobia)
Our hearts go out to the families and friends of those slaughtered in Orlando, Florida yesterday. May they find comfort knowing that they are not alone in this sorrow.
X Fifty Plus
When a crazed Jew attacked and killed a participant in last year’s Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem, it was called murder.
When Timothy McVeigh, Christian White guy, killed 168 w/truck bomb in Oklahoma, nobody blamed Christianity or the Bible. he was called a mass-murderer.
BUT, when a crazed, homophobic Muslim kills 50 people in a Gay Club in Orlando, it is called an act of terrorism.
Both the Democrats and the Republicans were quick to condemn the attack yesterday as an act of terrorism. Both are blind to the reality of hatred.
Let’s look at the murderer in question ….
A man who called 911 to proclaim allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group, and who had been investigated in the past for possible terrorist ties, stormed a gay nightclub here Sunday morning, wielding an assault rifle and a pistol, and carried out the worst mass shooting in United States history, leaving 50 people dead and 53 wounded.
The attacker, identified by law enforcement officials as Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old who was born in New York, turned what had been a celebratory night of dancing to salsa and merengue music at the crowded Pulse nightclub into a panicked scene of unimaginable slaughter, the floors slicked with blood, the dead and the injured piled atop one another. Terrified people poured onto the darkened streets of the surrounding neighborhood, some carried wounded victims to safety, and police vehicles were pressed into service as makeshift ambulances to rush people to hospitals.
Homophobia isn’t prerogative of a single religion.
ISIS isn’t REALLY Islamic but it doesn’t matter since after Orlando Shooting the name of game is “blame Muslims”
From our Associates and friends …
From Carlos Latuff
This cartoonist does not condone homophobia AND Islamophobia, since both are rotten fruits of ignorance.
From Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
Condolences to the families of the mass shooting in Florida and to the victims of the bombings in Damascus and Iraq. Innocent civilians continue to pay a price for the greed of the few who see mayhem and murder as good for their political agenda. My friend’s car has a sticker “Who profits?”
From CAIR National
CAIR National calls Orlando shooting hate crime. “We stand together against transphobia, homophobia, Islamophobia.”
Click HERE to see their statements in full
The Jewish Voice for Peace issued the following statement …. it reflects the thinking of many of us, regardless of our religious connections.
JVP’s Network Against Islamophobia issues the following statement in response to the horrific attack at “Latin Night” at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando on June 12, 2016:
We are grieving today with and for the Orlando LGTBQ community, and, in particular, the queer and trans Latinx communities that were the targets of this horrifying attack. Our hearts break for all those lost and their loved ones, for all those injured and traumatized.
We cannot ignore that this murderous attack takes place in the context of a political climate in this country where homophobic, transphobic, racist, and Islamophobic laws are commonplace, and where the same politicians promoting those laws adamantly oppose any restrictions on guns and assault weapons.
We are outraged that some of those same politicians–as well as the media, police, and others– are using this tragedy to demonize the Muslim community. It is appalling to instrumentalize the horror of these murders in order to spread dangerous Islamophobic messages, including characterizing Islam as uniquely threatening and homophobic. We know that such anti-Muslim narratives contribute to increased harassment and violence against Muslims or those perceived as Muslim, including LGBTQ members of those communities.
As LGBTQ people and allies, let us respond in ways that reflect a proud queer history of fighting back against all hatred and oppression. As we mourn all those who were murdered and reflect on this tragedy, we must continue to put all our energies into standing strong against homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, racism, and all forms of hatred, and to build for justice within and among our communities.
Bottom line is: don’t let hatred become the cause of your blindness to reality!
August 12, 2015 at 13:16 (Gay Rights, Homophobia, Israel, Videos)
Video of Jerusalem gay couple makes headlines worldwideA Ynet video of two gay men walking the streets of Jerusalem and absorbing abuse from passers by has generated attention around the world, raising questions about Israel’s acceptance of LGBT people. |
Gay couple walks Jerusalem streets
The recently published Ynet video clip, showing two gay men walking hand-in-hand in the streets of Jerusalem and being stared at and showered with curses and obscenities, has been generating interest around the world.
Even inside Israel, widely considered to be the most tolerant Middle East nation on LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) matters, many expressed shock.
The video, filmed by a concealed camera, shows two men, Shay and Ofir, walking in the heart of Jerusalem – Jaffa Street, the Mahne Yehuda Market, and The Midrahov – just days after the murder of Shira Banki at the city’s gay pride parade. The two men were cursed, and even death was wished upon them by Israelis from various sectors of society.
The video was published on The Huffington Post, one of the most popular news sites in the United States and the world. The article’s headline read, “This Is What It’s Like For Gay Men To Hold Hands In Jerusalem”, with editors mentioning that the clip is reminiscent of the video shot a few months ago in Russia, which documented two Russian men being shoved and berated by people as the walked the streets of Moscow.
The Independent mentioned that the Video looks similar to violent videos in Russia and Ukraine, two countries associated with intolerance toward sexual minorities. “One of the pair has a pony tail and both are wearing vests, but they only give a mild display of affection,” the report emphasized.
The British newspaper cast doubt on Israel’s image as an Island of tolerance in the region, writing, “Israel is widely perceived to be one of the most tolerant countries in the Middle East. However a survey in 2013 suggested that only 40 per cent of Israelis think LGBT people should be accepted.”
The British tabloid Mirror titled their story on the subject, “Footage displaying the shocking level of homophobia in Jerusalem.” Like others, Mirror tried to analyze the obscenities that were hurled at the couple on Jerusalem’s streets. “Israel is one of the only countries in the Middle East to have openly gay communities and the gay pride event in relatively secular Tel Aviv usually passes without incident,” they wrote. “But in conservative Jerusalem, attitudes are not as liberal.”
The Video was also published on Jewish news sites and LGBT-related news sites around the world.
Meanwhile ….. (Pending his next release)
Yishai Schlissel, who stabbed six marchers at the annual Jerusalem gay pride parade, will be admitted to a hospital psychiatric ward.
The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday ordered Schlissel’s transfer to a psychiatric institution and extended his police custody by 10 days. During his 48-hour stay in the psychiatric ward, doctors will observe Schlissel and determine his fitness to stand trial, the Hebrew-language news website Ynet reported. An examination ordered last week failed to arrive at a conclusion.
Schlissel, from Modiin Ilit in the West Bank, declined to be represented by an attorney and has refused to recognize the court’s authority.
He had been released from prison three weeks before the July 30 stabbings, which left a 16-year-old girl dead, after serving 10 years for a similar attack at Jerusalem’s 2005 gay pride parade.
Desertpeace 