A Wider Bridge statement on AVP’s recent anti-Israel statement

A Wider Bridge is disheartened to learn that the New York Anti-Violence Project (AVP)- a forty-year-old organization founded to fight bias-related violence, particularly against LGBTQ people- has chosen to prioritize the voices of an extremist minority over the needs and concerns of New York’s broader Queer population.

 

That they chose to post their statement on October 7- the one-year anniversary of the worst anti-Jewish carnage since the Holocaust- is even more troubling.

 

This raises critical questions about AVP’s priorities, particularly in light of the events of October 7th- when Hamas- a terrorist organization with avowed genocidal intent- attacked, raped and murdered 1,200 Israelis, and kidnapped hundreds more. If AVP truly champions anti-violence as a stance against genocide, why was there no robust statement on October 7, 2023 in response to these atrocities?

 

Antisemitism is rising dramatically. Queer Jews face pervasive violence in New York City. AVP’s statement deepens our fear by normalizing the hyperbolic and harmful rhetoric that has been used to bring us harm.

 

AVP must stand with all victims of hate and violence, including those suffering from antisemitism within the LGBTQ community, and they should say so publicly. Instead, they have chosen to embrace a one-sided narrative that demonizes and antagonizes any potential donor or client who is Jewish or supports Israel.

 

We urge AVP to reflect on its commitments to the whole community rather than allowing its voice to be co-opted by a narrow, uninformed agenda that ultimately harms many of the very populations in professes to protect.

 

We demand that this statement be retracted, and an apology issues to AVP’s constituents- especially LGBTQ Jews and supporters of Israel.

 

Let AVP know what you think. Contact Executive Director Audacia Ray at aray@avp.org.