Anti-Zionists, talk to Mid East's gay community - The Jewish Chronicle

We are living in a world where the truth does not always prevail. This is especially apparent when it comes to Israel. This tiny state was pioneered by refugees, who were expelled from their homes and finally made their way back to their ancestral homeland after 2,000 years of exile.

These pioneers created a miraculous state from the ashes - and yet it is a country that has not experienced one day of peace with its neighbours, who have been hell-bent on destroying it since its inception.

Despite this huge external challenge, Israel maintains a democracy in which all its major groups - Jews (Orthodox and secular), Arabs, Druze and Christians - are represented in all governmental institutions.

And yet Israel is targeted and branded by its haters as a violator of human rights.

Throughout the Middle East, women are still struggling for basic freedoms, including the right to drive a car or travel without male companionship. In Israel, women occupy the highest positions, from the head of the Supreme Court to Minister of Justice. As early as the 1970s, Israel elected a woman, Golda Meir, as Prime Minister, and it was she who uttered the famous words: "Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us."

'Pink-washing' is a modern-day blood libel

Elsewhere in the Middle East, religious minorities lack basic human rights and liberties. Ancient Jewish and Christian communities have been all but erased from Arab societies due to radical Islam. In Israel, such minorities flourish and are funded by the government.

Furthermore, surrounding countries - especially Iran, the biggest sponsor of global terror - criminalises and punishes homosexuals, publicly hanging them or throwing them off a roof just for being who they are. In Israel, homosexuals live without fear, openly serving in the military and participating in all sectors of Israeli society.

In spite of all this, one of the main tools of slander used by Israel's adversaries is the claim of "pink-washing". This modern-day blood-libel alleges that Israel tries to distract the international community and cover-up its crimes of "occupation" through an excessive emphasis on its treatment and support of LGBT rights.

Take a minute to think about how absurd this claim really is. How can the Jewish people be accused of "occupying" a land named "Judea", an area that has been Jewish since biblical times, even in name? Can you accept the claim that we are now "illegally occupying" a land that we have been yearning to return to for the past 2,000 years?

And what kind of accusation is this "pink-washing" anyway? I dream of a world where all countries are accused of such a "crime" - Israel's glorifying of LGBT rights is something that should be celebrated and not criticised.

Those who malign Israel's progressive policies as "pink-washing" are simply ignorant about its society.

Israel has always strived for social justice. Perhaps our history as a constantly persecuted minority has led us to empathise with other minorities who suffer from similar, unfounded persecution.

The statistics speak for themselves. The number of Israeli cities that hold gay pride parades grows each year. Homosexuals have served openly in the military for more than 20 years now and, even though the state does not officiate same-sex marriages, it does recognise all marriages officiated abroad.

In 2013, the University of Mainz conducted a survey in which 115,000 people from 120 countries were asked where an LGBT individual might most like to live. Israel came seventh.

Israel's approach to LGBT rights is just one among many of its policies that are constantly under fire. Israel struggles on a daily basis to debunk falsehoods fabricated by its enemies, and is even forced to defend its right to exist.

We need all of you, diaspora Jews and Israel defenders, of all races, religions and sexes, to visit Israel and witness the truth.

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