Pinkwashing

[Canarr]

First time I read of this term was when I came across articles about a protest at "Creating Change" in Chicago last week.

Apparently, Israel and their US supporters are guilty of pinkwashing when engaging in the support of LGBTQ people, because they don't really care about LGBTQ rights, they just want to deflect attention from their horrible treatment of Palestinians.

Here are articles both pro and con:

http://forward.com/news/breaking-new...ights-is-so-w/

http://oblogdeeoblogda.me/2016/01/23...ion-of-israel/

Honestly, I'm torn on the issue. On the one hand, Israel's settlement practices are indeed pretty horrible, and IMO their unwillingness to compromise on certain issues has definitely been detrimental to the Middle East peace process.

On the other hand, I'm sick and tired of people who think it's okay to silence views they don't agree with. That used to be a right-wing thing, but nowadays it seems more at home in the left.

What do you guys think?

[s_stabeler]

it depends. Where people are trying to say "actually, Israel isn't actually that good at supporting gay rights" then claims of pinkwashing are relevant. When, however, it is tied into a separate issue- the occupation of Palestinian land (and I'm referring to the settlements in the West Bank here, which, under international law, IS generally considered illegal) then it's irrelevant. Israel being a paragon of virtue would not justify the settlements- conversely, if the territory WAS legally part of Israel, even Israel engaging in a Holocaust against LGBT people would not justify stripping it from them.)