The leading international LGBTQ association, ILGA, has unilaterally suspended The Aguda, the central LGBTQ civil rights group in Israel. ILGA’s Board refused even to allow a vote on The Aguda’s proposal to host an upcoming conference in Israel. Making such proposals is a right granted to all ILGA members…except The Aguda
A Wider Bridge is petitioning ILGA member agencies to demand that ILGA reverse its ill-considered and hypocritical decision.
Together, we can take a stand against bigotry and show ILGA that diversity and solidarity are stronger than exclusion and division.
To learn more, see the A Wider Bridge statement here.
SIGN THE A WIDER BRIDGE PETITION NOW
Dear ILGA Member Agency Leader:
Recently, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) announced that its World Board had unilaterally suspended The Aguda – The Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel. As a leader of an ILGA member agency, we are asking you to demand this decision be reversed.
This dangerous ILGA action wrongly assigns blame to a country’s queer community for the actions of its national government.We hope that every LGBTQ organization can see the harm such a precedent poses. Excommunicating a country’s queer community is wrong.
The Aguda is similar to many ILGA member agencies. They are a grassroots, volunteer-based, nonprofit human-rights organization. They advocate for LGBTQ equality. They provide extensive assistance to LGBTQ individuals or groups. They run clinics and hotlines. Their staff and volunteers offer mental support, legal counseling, family mediation, assistance to refugees and immigrants, and help to victims of sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination. Aguda serves Jews, Christians, Muslims, Israelis, Palestinians, Druze, and others.
ILGA may also have broken its own rules by denying The Aguda the rights and processes available to all ILGA members. Further, ILGA engaged in a cynical slander by referencing “pinkwashing” in its action. That accusation devalues the hard-fought accomplishments of Israel’s LGBTQ community against considerable internal hostility. It silences the voices of those who fought hard for queer rights in Israel and those who continue the fight to protect and expand those rights.
We may have differences about issues of foreign policy. But discrimination based on nationality is wrong. Allowing this decision to stand bodes poorly for ILGA and its member agencies. Our strength as a global LGBTQ community lies in our commitment to inclusion and mutual support. Please add your organization’s voice in support of reinstating The Aguda.