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Pride organizers urged to ensure Jewish people can safely participate in events

A Wider Bridge sent letter to Capital Pride Alliance, other event organizers

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Members of A Wider Bridge and other LGBTQ Jewish groups participate in the Israel Day Parade in New York on June 2, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Ethan Felson)

A Wider Bridge has called upon Pride organizers across the country to ensure Jewish people can safely participate in their events.

The group, which “advocates for justice, counters LGBTQphobia, and fights antisemitism and other forms of hatred,” sent a letter to the Capital Pride Alliance and more than 60 other Pride organizers.

“We know that the 2024 Pride season promises to be enormously important for our community,” wrote A Wider Bridge Executive Director Ethan Felson. “With LGBTQ+ rights under attack, our collective energy, commitment, and passion are needed more than ever. We deeply appreciate your tireless work to ensure that our voices are heard and that our community can come together, even in challenging times, to protest injustice and to celebrate our identities.”

“We write with a pressing concern,” added Felson.

This year’s Pride Month will take place eight months after Hamas launched its surprise attack against southern Israel.

The Israeli government says Hamas militants killed roughly 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2023, including at least 260 partygoers and others at the Nova Music Festival. The Israeli government on Tuesday said roughly 80 people who were taken hostage on Oct. 7 remain alive in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says more than 35,000 people have died in the enclave since the war began.Ā The National LGBTQ Task Force and Outright International are among the groups that have called for a ceasefire.

A press release that announced A Wider Bridge’s letter notes antisemitic attacks increased 337 percent between Oct. 7 and Dec. 7, and 93 percent of Jewish people said “antisemitism is a real problem in America.” The press release further notes LGBTQ Jewish people “have previously faced discrimination at Pride events” that include three people who said organizers of Chicago’s Dyke March in 2017 refused to allow them to participate because they had Jewish Pride flags.

“This year, ahead of Pride, we are seeing and hearing about attacks online against queer Jewish and Zionist individuals,” said A Wider Bridge in the press release.

The letter includes five recommendations for Pride event organizers.

  • Engage with local LGBTQ+ Jews: Actively reach out to your local LGBTQ+ Jewish community, learn what their specific safety concerns are, and establish a relationship if you donā€™t already have one.
  • Consult with safety personnel in advance: Assuming that law enforcement will be present at Pride, make it clear that they should respond to anti-Jewish harassment or violence according to agreed-upon protocols for any such behavior. Share relevant guidelines with Pride marshals and provide de-escalation training so they are equipped to reduce tensions.
  • Carefully vet performers: In this tense political climate, it is more important than ever to vet performers both for the ability to speak respectfully to and about a diverse audience and to set clear expectations for performances at your event.
  • Familiarize yourself with and display inclusive Pride flags: Jews have been excluded from Pride spaces for wearing a Jewish star or bringing Pride flags with Jewish stars, an ancient symbol of Jewish identity. Familiarize yourself with symbols that Jewish LGBTQ+ people may wear or display.
  • Do not allow gate-keeping of LGBTQ+ Jews: Do not use litmus tests to determine which Jews are welcome at Pride, such as only permitting Jews with certain beliefs around or relationships with Israel and Palestine. All Jews should be welcome at Pride events.

Capital Pride has yet to respond to the Washington Blade’s request for comment on the letter.

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LGBTQ Non-Profit Organizations

Blade to cover Creating Change conference in Las Vegas

National LGBTQ Task Force convenes movement leaders at a pivotal moment

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National LGBTQ Task Force staff and volunteers prepare registration bags (Photo courtesy of the National LGBTQ Task Force)

The Washington Blade will be in Las Vegas this week to cover the National LGBTQ Task Force’s flagship annual Creating Change conference, Jan. 21-26, where movement leaders will convene at a pivotal moment for LGBTQ rights.

More than 3,000 are registered to attend, nearly a third of whom identify as transgender or gender nonconforming, and more than half as people of color. A livestream of the plenary sessions is available here.

This year’s conference comes days after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, along with his administration’s issuance of executive orders targeting immigration and LGBTQ rights, together with the revocation of his predecessor’s executive actions that established and clarified rights and protections for these and other marginalized communities.

For instance, Trump on Monday signed an order to direct the federal government to recognize only two genders, based on birth sex, which will likely mean that U.S. citizens will no longer be able to select the “X” gender marker for their passports and official documents, though the U.S. State Department has not provided clarity on how that will be enforced.

In recognition of the shifting legal and regulatory landscape ā€” and the need for immigrant and trans or gender nonconforming communities to understand and prepare for changes in the coming weeks and months ā€” the Task Force this year has organized sessions like “Protecting Your Rights: Navigating Legal Systems” with attorneys from the Transgender Law Center, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Oasis Legal Services.

Along with covering breaking news from sessions during the four-day program, the Blade will be talking with experts for stories focused on the backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, the Trump administration’s expected ban on military service by trans people, insights into how major LGBTQ advocacy organizations are preparing to push back against actions by this White House and congressional Republicans, and more.

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LGBTQ Non-Profit Organizations

Gov. Tim Walz to headline HRC National Dinner

Tickets still available for event on Saturday

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Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) speaks at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday, August 21. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Minnesota governor and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz will be the keynote speaker at the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner on Saturday, the organization announced on X.

Tickets are still available for the event. HRC is also hosting an Equality Convention this week, “a destination for trailblazers in politics, culture, and business who are igniting change and driving LGBTQ+ equality forward.”

When Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic 2024 presidential nominee, announced Walz as her running mate on Aug. 6, HRC President Kelley Robinson said her pick “sends a message that a Harris-Walz Administration will be committed to advancing equality and justice for all.”

The group wrote in a press release: “Governor Walz is a career-long champion for LGBTQ+ people. In 1999, as a history teacher and football coach, Walz sponsored the schoolā€™s first gay straight alliance student group.

“He opposed efforts to ban same-sex marriage in the Minnesota Constitution. While serving in Congress, he co-sponsored legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), voted to repeal the discriminatory ‘Donā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tell’ law, voted for the Matthew Shepard/James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and introduced legislation to protect LGBTQ+ service members from discrimination in benefits.

“As Governor, Tim Walz signed an Executive Order banning the dangerous practice of ‘conversion therapy’ in Minnesota.”

HRC in May pledged $15 million to organize in key battleground states for the Democratic ticket. Just days after President Joe Biden stepped out of the race and backed Harris as the presumptive nominee, the group raised more than $300,000 for her campaign in a virtual fundraiser.

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LGBTQ Non-Profit Organizations

GLAAD’s 2024 Accelerating Acceptance study documents disinformation’s impact

Group will review findings at the DNC

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GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

GLAAD released the 2024 Accelerating Acceptance study on Thursday, which found that acceptance for LGBTQ people remains at supermajority levels, but overall support for the community has dropped slightly as reports of discrimination have risen.

At a glance, the organization’s top-line findings reveal that:

  • 95 percent of non-LGBTQ Americans believe schools should be safe and accepting for all youth,
  • 93 percent say children should be taught to appreciate and accept people as they are,
  • 80 percent support LGBTQ equal rights, down from a record high of 84 percent one year ago, and
  • 70 percent of GenZ LGBTQ adults report discrimination based on their sexual orientation.

The 16-page report is available here. GLAAD’s Media Institute has published Accelerating Acceptance studies each year since 2015. The organization will hold a briefing at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20 to review this year’s findings.

As the data shows, “more non-LGBTQ people have been inspired to speak up for LGBTQ equality as a result of accurate news coverage,” GLAAD wrote in a press release, “and voters have shown up in election after election to reject extremist candidates and their anti-trans campaigns.”

However, along with the findings about discrimination ā€” particularly among Gen Z adults, the largest population of out Americans in history ā€” respondents also report “negative mental health impact, fear for their safety, and online and real world harassment as a result of the political discourse in the country.”

ā€œGLAADā€™s 2024 Accelerating Acceptance Study arrives at a monumental inflection point for the LGBTQ community and for our entire country,” GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis said. “While acceptance for LGBTQ people remains at supermajority levels, the data this year also sounds substantial alarms about threats to this progress and to freedoms valued by every American.”

“The same extremist lawmakers, judges and media sources targeting abortion access, contraception, free and fair elections, and free speech, are using the same strategies of fear and disinformation to undermine LGBTQ people and our equality,” Ellis said.

She added, “Fortunately, the data also points to proven ways to keep expanding and accelerating acceptance.”

The online study was conducted in January 2024 with a nationwide sample of 2,511 U.S. adults.

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