In many places it is still hard being LGBT. In the Bay Area, it has been easy for me to come out as a lesbian. What has been difficult is coming out as Jewish in my progressive LGBT circles.
It wasn't long ago that in a casual conversation with a group of queer friends, some of them Jewish, they learned that I, too, am Jewish. "Oh, but of course you're not a Zionist," responded one. At other times, people who learn I'm Jewish have said to me, "Oh, but you don't support Israel, do you?" Underlying those comments is the implication that belief that the state of Israel has a right to exist means that I am siding with an oppressive country that is violating human rights.
Yes, I support Israel. No, I don't agree with all of its policies. I would not have voted for Benjamin Netanyahu, nor have I ever voted for any of the Republicans in this country who have been elected to office. I believe the state of Israel has a right to exist. I also believe in a safe and secure Jewish state living next to a safe and stable Palestinian state and that it is imperative Israel work toward that resolution.
Despite growing up in a family highly involved in the Jewish community, I am the only member of my immediate family who hasn't visited Israel.
This year, thanks to the Jewish Federations of North America, I have found a trip that speaks to me: Jewish Federations' May 26-June 2 "See Israel With Pride," expected to be the largest-ever LGBTQ trip to Israel.
As I've reconnected with the organized Jewish world in recent years and struggled to find ways to discuss Israel in an LGBTQ community that sees only the challenges in Israel, the trip couldn't be coming at a better time. The intersectionality that puts Zionism in the same category as racism, sexism, and homophobia �" and that dismisses any positive statement about Israel, including its thriving LGBTQ communities, as "pinkwashing" �" is distressing. I am disheartened when I read news reports about the anti-Israel protesters who blocked an event featuring members of the Israeli LGBTQ group Open House during the recent Creating Change conference. Instead of listening to people's day-to-day experiences in Israel, people tried to shut down the event.
The politics of the LGBTQ movement has moved to the extreme on Israel in such a way that effective dialogue has been lost. It is no fairer for people to judge Israel based only on its treatment of Palestinians than it is for people to judge America based only on the introduction of anti-gay or anti-immigrant legislation, or police shootings of unarmed African Americans. Such narrow-minded assessments lead to one-sided conclusions that leave no room for nuanced understanding and dialogue of a complex situation that has evolved over many decades.
This Pride mission will help give me tools to try to improve that dialogue. While I look forward to visiting the typical tourism sites, I particularly look forward to meeting people who can provide me a better understanding of Israel in general and its variety of communities. As we visit with recipients of programs supported by the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties and its partner agencies, I'm excited that we will be meeting with Ethiopian immigrants, with beneficiaries of an employment program for Israeli Arab women, and with high school students from low-income communities who are enrolled in programs to become certified as computer and network technicians. We will be able to ask tough questions both when meeting with Israel's policymakers and average citizens.
I'm eager for our meetings with members of Israel's LGBTQ community, including those representing many of Israel's political factions, among them an openly gay member of the Knesset. As we meet with activists from Israel's leading LGBTQ organizations, including the Aguda and Jerusalem Open House and talk to those whose LGBTQ voices have had an impact on Israeli politics, arts, culture and media, I plan to ask questions about daily life in Israel, what kinds of strides they've seen, what changes they still hope for, and how they are working for peace.
I hope others from the Bay Area will participate with me on this trip. As the trip concludes and my (non-Jewish) girlfriend and I join the Tel Aviv Pride parade, I'm hoping that it helps integrate my queer and Jewish lives.
Dara Papo is a social worker who lives in San Francisco. She serves on the board of Keshet, an organization working for the full inclusion of LGBT Jews within the Jewish community.
For more information on the Jewish Federations' trip, visit http://jewishfederations.org/see-israel-with-pride-2016.