Middle East
LGBTQ groups in Israel respond to war
Hamas militants launched surprise attack on Saturday
LGBTQ rights groups in Israel have rallied to support to those who have been impacted by their country’s war against Hamas that began Saturday.
Hila Peer, chair of the Aguda, the Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel, on Monday said her organization and other Israeli LGBTQ rights groups have launched an “operation to take in people” who have been evacuated from communities in southern Israel that are near the Gaza Strip. The Aguda has also encouraged anyone to reach out if they want to donate food or equipment to members of the Israel Defense Forces or offer “a listening ear.”
“We are here for each other,” reads a post to the Aguda’s Facebook page. “Let’s not go through this alone.”
“We’re keeping safe, trying to do everything we can to help our friends in reserves right now and people in active service,” Peer told the Washington Blade.
Hoshen, an advocacy group that works in secular Israeli schools, on its website also encouraged its members to donate food and equipment and host evacuees from southern Israel. Hoshen, like the Aguda, has also pledged to help Israelis who the war has directly impacted.
“Our role as a community is to stand together, hand in hand and heart to heart, to help, assist, support and encourage them,” said Hoshen.
Maya Arbel, executive director of Ma’avarim, a transgender rights group, on Tuesday said she and her colleagues are cooking meals for IDF soldiers and collecting donations.
“[During] these times, it’s crucial for the transgender community in Israel to be part of Israeli society and contribute to civic efforts, fostering a sense of unity with the hope and goal of coming together and improving our situation during this crisis,” Arbel told the Blade.
Arbel said Ma’avarim is also working to ensure trans people continue to have access to health care and other basic needs during the war.
“The transgender community in emergency situations are especially vulnerable, as not every space is accommodating to transgender identities, and those who rely on medical resources may be marginalized due to the emergency situation,” said Arbel. “These days of chaos emphasize the importance of preparedness and know-how for aid and calmness.”
A Wider Bridge — a U.S.-based organization that seeks to build “a movement of LGBTQ people and allies with a strong interest in and commitment to supporting Israel and its LGBTQ communities” — is accepting donations on its website that it will send to Israeli advocacy groups.
Hamas, which the U.S. and Israel have designated a terrorist organization, on Saturday launched a surprise attack against communities in southern Israel from Gaza.
The Israeli government has said more than 1,200 people have been killed, including at least 260 people who Hamas militants murdered at an all-night music festival in a kibbutz near the border between Israel and Gaza. The Israeli government also says more than 3,000 people have been injured in the country since the war began and Hamas militants kidnapped at least 150 others.
Hamas rockets have reached Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ben Gurion Airport and other locations in central and southern Israel. The AP reports IDF forces and Hezbollah, another militant group, have exchanged fire across the Israeli-Lebanese border.
The Palestinian Health Ministry on its website says Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have killed 1,055 people and injured 5,184 others. The Israeli government has cut electricity and water to the territory and has stopped food and fuel shipments.
“As a community, we stand with the people of Israel and condemn those who choose terror and torture over peace,” said Congregation Bet Mishpachah, an LGBTQ synagogue in D.C., on Tuesday in a statement sent to the Blade. “For many, Israel not only represents the homeland of the Jewish people, but also stands out as a beacon of freedom, hope and acceptance for LGBTQ+ Jews and non-Jews alike in the Middle East and around the world.”
Rabbi Jake Singer-Beilin joined D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Eliav Benjamin, the deputy chief of mission for the Israeli Embassy in Washington, among thousands of others, at a prayer vigil that took place at Adas Israel Congregation in Northwest D.C. on Tuesday.
“We recognize the necessity for the people and State of Israel’s right to defend themselves against groups who wish to take away those freedoms and seek the total annihilation of the Jewish people,” said Bet Mishpachah in its statement. “Our hearts mourn the loss of innocent lives in Gaza as well.”
HRC president: ‘Loss of life unfolding in the Middle East is heartbreaking’
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson is among those outside of Israel who have publicly responded to the war.
“The loss of life unfolding in the Middle East is heartbreaking and the human rights violations are appalling,” she said on Monday in a thread on her X account.
“Hamas killed hundreds of Israeli civilians over the weekend in a terrorist attack,” added Robinson. “And now countless more Palestinian and Israeli people are dying as the violence escalates while Jewish, Arab and Muslim people in the U.S. and around the world fear backlash and hate-motivated crimes.”
West Hollywood (Calif.) Mayor Sepi Shyne, a lesbian woman who was born in Iran, on Saturday condemned “the attacks by Hamas and the terror groups from Gaza on Israel and her people” and stressed the U.S. “stands with the people of Israel as they once again bravely face horrific violence.”
“As someone who has experienced this kind of terror and violence, these actions never lead to peace and my heart goes out to both the Israeli and Palestinian civilians caught in this horrible conflict,” she added in her statement. “Israel has the right to defend itself and this violence must be universally condemned.”
Georges Azzi, co-founder of Helem, a Lebanese LGBTQ rights group, on Monday used the hashtag #IStandWithHumanity in his own tweet.
“You can support Palestinians and their right to end occupation and not support Hamas, you can advocate for Palestinian rights without endorsing Hezbollah,” said Azzi. “You can condemn terrorism and the killing of civilians and still believe in one’s right to resist. These stances are not mutually exclusive.”
Hasan Kilani, a Jordanian Palestinian queer activist, on Wednesday expressed concern about LGBTQ people who cannot leave Gaza.
“There is no exit for LGBTQ individuals from Gaza to leave as Israel bombed all exits for Gazans,” Kilani told the Blade. “Israel must allow those who want to escape the bombing to do so. That’s the minimum we can ask.”
Iran
Underground queer network challenges Iranian regime
Homosexuality remains punishable by death in country
While global powers negotiate with Iran’s regime under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to curb its advancing nuclear program, the oppressed LGBTQ community is building and operating a secret underground network to resist state-coerced sex reassignment surgeries.
These surgeries, mandated for gay and lesbian people as a state-sanctioned alternative to execution for homosexuality, are part of Iran’s penal code that criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual relations. The network provides safe houses, forged identification documents, and covert communication channels to protect members from government raids and imprisonment.
Precise data on LGBTQ people prosecuted in Iran for resisting state-coerced sex reassignment surgeries over the past decade remains elusive, as the regime’s opaque judicial system obscures such cases under vague charges like “corruption on earth” or “sodomy.” NGOs, including 6Rang, report that thousands of gay and lesbian Iranians face pressure to undergo surgeries to avoid execution for same-sex conduct, with resistance often leading to arrests or harassment for violating gender norms.
Zahra Seddiqi Hamedani and Elham Choubdar, two prominent activists, in 2022 were sentenced to death for their social media advocacy, charged with “corruption” and “human trafficking,” though their convictions were overturned in 2023. Similarly, Rezvaneh Mohammadi in 2019 received a five-year sentence for promoting “homosexual relations,” a charge hinting at resistance to the regime’s heteronormative mandates.
Arsham Parsi in 2003 escalated his clandestine fight for Iran’s LGBTQ community by launching Voice Celebration, a secret Yahoo chat group where 50 queer Iranians, using aliases, exchanged coded messages to evade the regime’s surveillance. Operating like operatives in a shadow network, participants shared text messages about human rights and survival tactics, knowing a single breach could lead to torture or execution. Parsi, then 23, orchestrated the group’s encrypted communications, building a virtual lifeline that connected isolated individuals across the country until his cover was nearly blown, forcing a desperate escape in early 2005.
Parsi in an exchange with the Washington Blade revealed a defiant undercurrent in Iran, a movement too elusive to be called traditional resistance yet pulsing with covert rebellion against the regime.
The state’s relentless push to force gay men into coerced surgeries — marketed as a “solution” to their sexuality — seeks to erase their identities through enforced conformity. Parsi, steering the International Railroad for Queer Refugees, disclosed how queer Iranians fight back with clandestine measures: Underground education to counter state propaganda, discreet psychological support to fortify resilience, and encrypted networks to forge secret alliances. These efforts, veiled to evade regime detection, dismantle the state’s narrative with every hidden signal and guarded connection.
“We are working to create a true grassroots resistance by empowering people to understand their identity, seek safe alternatives, and reclaim their agency despite the oppressive context,” said Parsi. “The Iranian regime’s policies are built on denial of sexual orientation and a forced alignment with a binary gender model.”
“Rather than recognizing gay, lesbian, or bisexual individuals, the system pressures them — particularly gay men — to undergo irreversible surgeries in order to be legally tolerated,” he added. “This systemic violence creates deep psychological harm and compels many to resist, even quietly, to protect their truth. The lack of legal recognition and the threat of arrest, harassment, or blackmail fuels the underground defiance we see today. It’s not only resistance for survival — it’s a rejection of state-imposed identity suppression.”
IRQR, guided by Parsi, for nearly two decades has operated as a lifeline, orchestrating daring escapes and running a covert network for Iran’s hunted queer community.
Parsi said his work relies on secret, encrypted channels — meticulously managed to avoid detection — to funnel at-risk individuals to safety, smuggle life-saving information, secure hidden safe houses, and deliver emotional support. Every operation faces threats not only from the regime’s security forces but also from Basij militia operatives who masquerade as queer individuals to infiltrate networks, heightening the peril for those marked by their identities.
Black-clad Basij militia members respond at the first signs of defiance; tearing through crowds on motorcycles with batons and guns at the ready, poised to crush any challenge to Iran’s regime. These paramilitary volunteers, bound by fierce loyalty to the Islamic Republic, serve as the state’s enforcers, their plainclothes operatives slipping into dissident networks to root out the defiant.
The Basij fill queer Iranians with dread; their so-called morality patrols and digital traps stalking those who dare to exist outside the regime’s rigid norms.
“Their goal is not only to gather intelligence but to undermine, divide, and cancel the work of activists and organizations like ours,” said Parsi. “This divide-and-conquer strategy is designed to break solidarity and generate mistrust.”
“We have seen numerous cases where trusted circles were compromised by these informants, and it has made our work — and survival — even more complex,” he further noted. “Despite this, we persist. Through our underground connections, we have helped thousands of queer Iranians seek safety, community, and ultimately, freedom.”
Parsi told the Blade that international support — through funding, advocacy, policy pressure, or amplifying his stories — can significantly strengthen his work to protect Iran’s persecuted queer community. He emphasized IRQR operates with limited resources, making global solidarity essential to improve outreach, enhance safety measures, and respond swiftly to those in need. Parsi underscored such support brings visibility to the crisis in Iran, reminding those at risk they are not forgotten while exerting pressure on a regime that thrives on silence and fear.
One of the things that Parsi’s underground network offers is online workshops that educate queer Iranians about how they can remain beyond the regime’s reach.
He said these sessions, designed for safety and accessibility, encompass peer support, mental health education, digital security training, and guidance on refugee pathways. Parsi explained the workshops give vulnerable Iranians the tools to navigate persecution, defy state surveillance, and pursue escape, exposing the resilience of a community under relentless scrutiny.
“Due to the high risk of persecution in Iran, traditional protests are not feasible,” said Parsi. “Instead, acts of resistance take quieter forms — like anonymous storytelling which are just as powerful in building awareness and connection within the community. While discreet, these activities help create a sense of solidarity and empowerment among queer Iranians.”
Parsi, undeterred by Iran’s unyielding regime, asserted with measured confidence that while underground acts of defiance — living authentically, supporting one another, resisting forced medicalisation — may not shift policy overnight, they are already improving lives. He stressed these quiet rebellions that queer Iranians stage challenge the regime’s narrative of shame and invisibility, forging a resilient foundation for future change. Each act, Parsi emphasized, dismantles the regime’s grip, offering hope to those navigating a landscape of relentless oppression.
“At IRQR, we view each life saved, each network built, and each truth spoken as a small but powerful act of resistance,” said Parsi. “These are the seeds of future liberation. Over time, as they multiply and gain visibility — locally and internationally — they will help reshape the landscape for queer Iranians.”
ILGA Asia Executive Director Henry Koh said queer Iranians’ underground resistance is a powerful assertion of bodily autonomy and self-determination. He described it as a deeply courageous act in a regime where visibility invites immense personal risk, from arrest to execution.
When asked by the Blade if the Iranian regime’s punitive measures against openly queer people fuel underground resistance, Koh responded unequivocally.
“Absolutely,” he said. “The climate of criminalization and repression leaves little safe space for queer people to live openly. This forces many into secrecy or underground networks as a means of survival, resistance, and mutual support. Such conditions are not only unjust but also profoundly harmful to the well-being of LGBTIQ+ individuals.”
“It is important to distinguish between affirming gender-affirming care and any form of coercive medical intervention,” he added. “When states or authorities mandate medical procedures as a condition for recognition or safety, it constitutes a grave violation of human rights. Gender identity is deeply personal, and no institution should override an individual’s self-defined identity.”
Israel
ILGA World reinstates Israeli LGBTQ rights group
The Aguda was suspended from global organization in October 2024
ILGA World has announced it will reinstate an Israeli LGBTQ rights group.
The global advocacy group’s board last fall voted unanimously to suspend the Aguda, the Association for LGBTQ+ Equality in Israel, after it withdrew its bid to host the 2026/2027 ILGA World Conference. ILGA World in a May 1 statement said the Aguda’s reinstatement will take effect on Oct. 27, 2025, a year after the suspension began.
“The decision, made by a majority vote, follows an investigation by ILGA World’s Disputes Resolution Committee, composed of elected board members,” reads the statement. “The committee assessed the complaints it received on whether the Aguda aligned with ILGA World’s constitutional principles.”
The statement notes that while the complaint against the Aguda “was deemed substantive — particularly due to the Aguda’s reluctance to condemn war crimes plausibly amounting to genocide in Gaza, the committee acknowledged that ‘the Aguda actively continues to provide support to LGBTI communities.'”
“The ILGA World board took into account that requiring member organizations to take a public stance on their government positions and actions, and holding them accountable for not doing so, would create a precedent that could be harmful to our membership in many countries,” it adds.
The statement further notes the ILGA World board’s decision “is not an endorsement of the Aguda’s position, actions, or silence on the war in Gaza.”
The decision to suspend the Aguda took place less than a month after Israel marked the first anniversary of Oct. 7.
Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, killed roughly 1,200 people, including upwards of 360 people at the Nova Music Festival, when they launched a surprise attack against southern Israel.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli forces have killed tens of thousands of people in the enclave since Oct. 7. Fifty-nine hostages who were kidnapped in Israel on that day remain in the Gaza Strip.
Aguda CEO Yael Sinai Biblesh stated:
“ILGA’s decision to reinstate the Aguda is an important step that recognizes our longstanding contribution to advancing LGBTQ+ rights in Israel,” said Aguda CEO Yael Sinai Biblesh in a statement her organization sent to the Washington Blade on Monday. “However, we regret that the suspension was not lifted immediately and instead extended until October.”
“We chose to fight for our voice in spaces where the discourse is difficult and complex, because we believe that’s exactly where our presence is most needed — to enable nuanced and respectful conversations and discussions,” she added. “The Aguda will continue to collaborate with organizations around the world in order to defend the rights of all people under the LGBTQ+ umbrella across all sectors in Israel — both Arab and Jewish, even in the most challenging times.”
ILGA Asia on Monday issued a statement in which it said it disagrees with the decision to reinstate the Aguda.
“While we acknowledge the decision of the ILGA World board, we note that the motion to lift the suspension was not adopted unanimously,” said the ILGA Asia Executive Board. “Following consultations with the ILGA Asia Executive Board, our representatives on the ILGA World board did not support the motion. Our decision was guided by deep conscience, regional accountability, and unyielding commitment to justice, dignity, and solidarity.”
ILGA Asia made the following points.
• We fully recognize the process undertaken by ILGA World’s Disputes Resolution Committee. However, we believe that the following factors were not adequately addressed:
• The significant harm and internal division caused by the Aguda’s 2024 bid to host the World Conference in Israel, at a time of escalating genocide and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza
• The lack of a public stance from The Aguda on war crimes and human rights violations in Gaza, which we view as inconsistent with the universality of human rights espoused by ILGA
• The presence of content glorifying militarism on their public platforms raises concerns about alignment with ILGA’s principles of peace and nonviolence
• And the unresolved harm and trauma experienced by many within the ILGA family — particularly Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim members — warranted a longer and more restorative process before reinstatement.
“We acknowledge that the majority of the ILGA World Board justified the decision on the grounds that civil society organizations should not be automatically held accountable for the actions of their governments,” reads the statement. “While this argument holds relevance in many repressive contexts, we respectfully diverge from this rationale in this case, where silence amid atrocity has direct and harmful consequences.”
The ILGA Asia Executive Board’s full statement can be found here.
Israel
ILGA World suspends Israeli advocacy group after bid to host conference withdrawn
Decision has prompted praise, criticism
ILGA World has suspended an Israeli advocacy group after it withdrew its bid to host its conference in Tel Aviv.
The Aguda, the Association for LGBTQ+ Equality in Israel, had bid to host the 2026/2027 ILGA World Conference. The ILGA World board of directors was to have voted on the proposal at the 2024 ILGA World Conference 2024 that will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from Nov. 11-15.
ILGA World on Tuesday announced “the bid to host our next World Conference in Tel Aviv will not go forward, and will not be put to a vote at the upcoming World Conference.” The announcement notes the ILGA World Board “held an emergency meeting and unanimously decided to remove the bid from the Aguda from consideration, and it has also decided to suspend the organization from our membership.”
The announcement further says the Aguda’s bid “was found in violation of ILGA World’s aims and objectives set out in our constitution (3.1 and 3.2.)”
“The ILGA World board is also reviewing the Aguda’s compliance with our constitution and has decided to suspend the organization from our membership to allow for that to happen,” said ILGA World in its announcement.
The decision to suspend the Aguda comes against the backdrop of the war in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas militants last Oct. 7 killed roughly 1,200 people, including upwards of 360 partygoers at the Nova Music Festival, when they launched a surprise attack against southern Israel. The Israeli government says the militants also kidnapped more than 200 people.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli forces have killed more than 41,000 people in the enclave since Oct. 7.
A case that South Africa filed with the International Court of Justice in the Hague late last year accuses Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
The International Criminal Court, which is also in the Hague, in May announced it plans to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh.
Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, said the five men have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza and Israel. (A suspected Israeli airstrike on July 31 killed Haniyah while he was in the Iranian capital of Tehran to attend Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration. Israeli soldiers on Oct. 16 killed Sinwar in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza that borders Egypt.)
“We know that seeing the Tel Aviv bid taken into consideration caused anger and harm to our communities,” said ILGA World in its statement. “Our apology goes to our members, to our host organizations, and our global communities — and especially to those in South Africa, who will soon host the global movement for our upcoming World Conference.”
“We recognize the historical experience with apartheid and colonialism in South Africa: Even the possibility of voting on such a bid in their home country would have been at odds with the unequivocal solidarity for the Palestinian people,” it adds.
ILGA World also said it supports calls for “stronger governance practices in vetting the proposals we receive.”
“We heard our communities, and we must do better in the future: A situation like this must not repeat,” it said.
The Aguda in a statement said it is “deeply disappointment that ILGA has chosen to boycott those who work for LGBTQ+ rights and strive towards a more just society.”
“For 50 years, the Aguda, the Association for LGBTQ+ Equality in Israel, has worked to support the LGBTQ+ community and uphold human rights for all, including supporting LGBTQ+ individuals in the Arab community, and Palestinian asylum seekers persecuted for their sexual and gender identities,” reads the statement. “The Israeli LGBTQ+ identity embraces both service and contribution to the state as citizens, while continuing to fight for the values of democracy and human rights in the society in which we live.”
The Aguda added Israel’s LGBTQ community “should not bear responsibility for government policy, and we expect the international community to support liberal voices rather than boycott them.”
“We are proud to be LGBTQ+ and Israeli, and we will continue to fight for a more equal and safer society,” said the Aguda.
ILGA World Executive Director Julia Ehrt on Wednesday told the Washington Blade in an emailed statement the organization “has communicated in writing with the Aguda.”
“So far, we have not heard from them other than on social media, but of course they have a right to defend their membership status according to our governance procedures,” said Ehrt.
Groups ‘complicit in Israeli apartheid or genocide should be expelled’
Charbel Maydaa, the founder and general director of MOSAIC, a Lebanon-based advocacy group that works throughout the Middle East and North Africa, is also the co-chair of ILGA Asia. He is among the activists who welcomed ILGA World’s decision to withdraw the Aguda’s bid.
A thread in response to a post on Maydaa’s LinkedIn page notes ILGA World in 1987 expelled the Gay Association of South Africa after it “refused to condemn apartheid” in the country “or to get involved in political struggles.”
“GASA’s stance led to its dissolution, and the formation of new and more progressive LGBT rights groups in South Africa,” said Gabriel Hoosain Khan, a London-based activist. “Organizations that are complicit in Israeli apartheid or genocide should be expelled.”
The International Planned Parenthood Federation also welcomed ILGA World’s decision. A Wider Bridge, a group that “advocates for justice, counters LGBTQphobia, and fights antisemitism, and other forms of hatred,” described it as “outrageous and unacceptable.”
ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) supposedly stands for respect for human rights, equality and freedom regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics,” said A Wider Bridge in a statement. “But by singling out Israel and Israeli LGBTQ people for opprobrium, ILGA violates its fundamental principles.”
The 2022 ILGA World Conference took place in Long Beach, Calif.
“I am appalled and disgusted that ILGA World would ostracize and expel the leading organization in Israel that fights for the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people there,” said California Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, who is the former executive director of Equality California, a statewide LGBTQ rights group, on X. “This is appalling and blatant anti-Semitism and an abandonment of LGBTQ+ Israelis.”
Shame on @ILGAWORLD. As the former leader of @eqca, CA’s LGBTQ civil rights org, I am appalled and disgusted that @ilgaworld would ostracize and expel the leading org in #Israel that fights for the civil rights of LGBTQ+ ppl there. This is appalling and blatant antisemitism and… https://t.co/6zrU1WQQ7J
— Rick Chavez Zbur (@RickChavezZbur) October 30, 2024
Ehrt in her statement to the Blade acknowledged criticisms over ILGA World’s decision. She also dismissed suggestions that anti-Semitism prompted it.
“ILGA World has a long and proven record of fighting for equality for all,” said Ehrt. “We have repeatedly called for peace in the region, and continue to work every day to counter racism, xenophobia, islamophobia, and anti-Semitism — alongside LGBTI-phobia. Our daily work speaks much louder than the baseless accusations we are receiving.”
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