Black Laundry
Black Laundry (Hebrew: כביסה שחורה, Kvisa Shchora) is an Israeli group of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders and others (collectively, LGBTQ) who utilize direct action to oppose "the occupation" and to support other "social justice" causes. According to their website, "Black Laundry tries to stress the connection between different forms of oppression - our own oppression as lesbians, gays and transpeople enhances our solidarity with members of other oppressed groups."[1] The group formed in Tel Aviv at the beginning of the second intifada.
Black Laundry's first action was a "No Pride in the Occupation!" campaign within the Pride Day celebration in Israel. This message was the first to surface in the LGBTQ community in Israel. Initially the radicals were met with a great deal of opposition, but they have gained more acceptance among LGBTQ Israelis and shifted the discourse on queer issues in Israel.
Black Laundry activists believe that it is hypocritical to have pride in gay liberation while Israel continues to occupy parts of Palestine. They also protest the commercialization of LGBT and queer culture.
The group often employs performance art to convey messages about Palestinian liberation, animal rights, queer rights, sexual freedom, body oppression, and anti-capitalism.
The group also fights alongside other LGBTQ groups to fight gay repression in the county and also work closely with other radical left groups, including Anarchists Against the Wall. Their stated intention is not to educate Palestinians on gay liberation but rather to offer solidarity in their struggle for liberation; however, some believe that they have had a positive effect on the typically conservative culture of Palestine.
See also
- Anarchists Against the Wall
- Jews Against the Occupation
- International Solidarity Movement
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- Refusenik
References
- Katz, Sue, "What's Left of the Left in Israel", Z Magazine, December 2004, 16-19.
- This page is seeded with information from infoshop.org's OpenWiki