Gay rights activists accuse Israel of ‘pinkwashing’ to deflect criticism about treatment of Palestinians
Lavish annual Gay Pride parade bids to project liberal image as government launches publicity blitzkrieg
Tens of thousands of revellers took part in Friday’s Gay Pride parade in Tel Aviv, an annual event promoted and funded by the city that draws worldwide attention.
But Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) campaigners say Israel is spending lavishly to paint itself pink in an effort to restore a liberal image tarnished by its occupation of the Palestinian territories.
In the past it was only pro-Palestinian activists who accused the government of pushing its reputation for sexual tolerance as a smokescreen, a tactic referred to as “pinkwashing”.
The LGBT community was mobilised a month before the high-profile Gay Pride with the announcement that the tourism ministry was spending 11 million shekels (US$2.86 million) on advertising to attract European visitors to the event.
The sum was 10 times the amount of annual state funding for LGBT associations.
“Spending 1.5 million shekels to paint a rainbow on a plane full of tourists, that’s ridiculous,” said Imri Kalman, co-chair of Aguda, Israel’s largest LGBT NGO.