Halifax Pride host AGM, controversial ‘pink-washing’ motion to be discussed

HALIFAX – Halifax Pride will hold its annual general meeting at the Marriott Hotel Wednesday evening, which will include a decision made on the controversial resolution aiming to ban pamphlets promoting Israeli tourism.

The resolution put forward by Queer Arabs of Halifax (QAH) has been criticized for its effort to oust the “Size Doesn’t Matter,” branding campaign pamphlets that market tourism to Tel Aviv, touting it an an inclusive place for the LGBTQ community.

QAH call it ‘pinkwashing’ however, a term used to describe a corporation or government that tries to divert attention from its own human rights record by marketing itself as gay friendly, which is also an extension of the popular BDS campaign that involves boycotting Israel economically.

Morgan Manzur with Halifax Pride said the QAH is within its right to present the resolution as stakeholders with Pride, as they had intimated to the board that the presence of the material is traumatic to them.

“Anytime the accessibility of Halifax Pride and our event, Halifax Pride takes it very seriously,” Manzur said.

“We allow any of our community groups or community members to submit resolutions,” he said, adding that the board of Halifax Pride itself is not taking a position on the resolution, but a vote will be taken following a discussion at Wednesday’s meeting.

The Queer Arabs of Halifax did not respond to a request for comment.

Jewish group calls motion itself “hateful”

Naomi Rosenfeld, executive director of the Atlantic Jewish Council said the Jewish community is “disappointed” such a “divisive resolution” is even being allowed to come to the floor at a place that claims to be inclusive.

She said it’s “utterly at odds with the values of Pride and the inclusion that Pride is meant to embody, especially given that Pride unites individuals from such a diverse range of community, including LGBTQ+ members of the Jewish community.”

“Many Jewish community members here are puzzled and deeply hurt this essential part of our core identity is…under attack and being asked to be censored by this resolution.”

She said the Jewish community has been a longtime ally of the LGBTQ+ community both in Halifax and across Canada, and the resolution’s existence also sends a message that members of both the Jewish and LGBTQ+ communities are not welcome at Pride.

“Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, we’re happy to talk about this, but this is questioning our freedom of expression,” she said.

“This resolution is abandoning the founding principle of inclusion,” she said, adding it’s “utterly at odds with Pride’s values and with Canadian Democratic values.”

She is urging all community members, both Jewish and non-Jewish, to show up to Wednesday’s meeting to show support for what she called a “hateful motion.”

Rebecca Segal is with the group Jewish Youth for Equality, a new coalition of young Jewish people who want to speak out to end the occupation of Palestine “through education and better allyship.”

She said the group feels QAH should be allowed to voice its opinion as queer people of colour have been marginalized for years, including traumatic experiences for some in Israel.

On the flip side though, she feels Jewish people are being painted as being against the LGBTQ community with rhetoric surrounding this motion being shared on social media with no context, when that is the furthest from the truth.

Segal doesn’t believe the motion was used to specifically target the Jewish community, but said she can’t let the “queer community think that Jewish people are not allies for them.”

“Within the Jewish community this needs to be spoken about more in a democratic way,” Segal conceded, but added Jewish people also need to respect “certain people in pride have experienced traumas because of that country’s rights violations.”

“That’s a more than reasonable request and that is the kind of request that needs to be listened to to create a safe space for our community.”