Several Jewish groups and leaders, including the Anti-Defamation League, have condemned the Chicago Dyke March’s ban of attendees who carried Jewish LGBT pride flags.
Women who carried LGBT rainbow flags that included the Star of David were forced to leave the Chicago Dyke March on Saturday after they supposedly “made people feel unsafe” and upset attendees who claimed that the march was “anti-Zionist” and “pro-Palestinian.”
“It is outrageous that while celebrating LGBTQ pride, Jewish participants carrying a rainbow Star of David flag were asked to leave the Chicago Dyke March,” declared ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt in a statement. “The community of LGBTQ supporters is diverse and that is part of its tremendous strength. Both the act and the explanation were anti-Semitic, plain and simple.”
In his statement, Greenblatt called upon “leaders from LGBTQ and progressive communities to join us in condemning this exclusion.”
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, an associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, also condemned the move, adding that the Dyke March’s ban of Jews “brings disgrace to a movement that is dedicated to equal rights for all. Equal rights that is except for Jews who dare to celebrate their ties to their people and the Jewish homeland.”
“Tel Aviv recently hosted a massive Gay Pride Parade, but a similar event in Turkey was met with police firing into crowds of people trying to march,” he continued. “In the Jewish State, gays serve in the military. In Iran, gays are publicly hung.”
Amy Stoken, who acts as the Chicago director of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), claimed the exclusion was a “blatant incident of anti-Semitism.”
“An annual march celebrating inclusion and acceptance was hijacked today by those who believe Jews do not belong to the LGBTQ community,” Stoken proclaimed. “Shame on the organizers of the Dyke March for not ensuring Jewish marchers can participate as freely as any other participant.”
Arthur Slepian, founder of “Israeli-North American LGBTQ organization” A Wider Bridge branded the decision as “heinous.”
“They are saying, ‘only the good Jews need apply,’” he declared, adding, “They want to impose a litmus test, have people swear an oath that they are not friends of Israel.”
On Sunday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wore Islam-themed Ramadan socks to an LGBT Pride parade in Toronto.
Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook.
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