The National LGBTQ Task Force ( Task Force ), on Jan. 18, responded to complaints the organization received after cancelling an Israel-focused event scheduled for the 2016 Creating Change conference in Chicago.
[UPDATE: Task Force reverses: www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Task-Force-reverses-cancellation-of-Israel-focused-Creating-Change-event-/53987.html .]
The event, scheduled for Friday, Jan. 22, was a presentation sponsored by the San Francisco-based organization A Wider Bridge ( AWB ) that focused on the Jerusalem Open House community center in Israel. AWB's mission is fostering relationships between Israel and the LGBT community.
The Task Force notified AWB on Jan. 15 that the event was cancelled, citing security concerns. No specific threats were cited, though the presentation had drawn the ire of some online and local activists who maintain that AWB is complicit in "pinkwashing" marketing strategies that highlight Israel's stances on LGBT rights in order to draw attention away from the nation's treatment of the Palestinians.
Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey, in a statement, said, "Last week, we decided to cancel a Friday night reception at the Creating Change Conference entitled 'Beyond the Bridge.' We cancelled the reception when it became clear to us it would be intensely divisive rather than the community-building, social atmosphere which is the norm for Friday night at the conference. While we welcome robust discourse and political action, given the complexity and deep passions on all sides, we concluded the event wouldn't be productive or meet the stated goals of its organizers. We also have the overarching responsibility to ensure that Creating Change is a safe space for attendees. Since the cancellation, we have been accused of being many things including being anti-Jewish, or anti-Semiticwhich are wrong and deeply painful to those of us in the [Task Force]. We believe in the self-determination of all people, no matter where they call home, the right of LGBTQ people to live in peace and safety, and in constructive dialogue that moves the work for social justice forward. We are an organization dedicated to LGBTQ freedom, justice and equality for all."
AWB launched an online petition about the matter at chn.ge/1JdEbH6. The discussion will now take place Jan. 22 at the Renaissance Blackstone Chicago Hotel, 636 S. Michigan Ave., and will not be under the auspices of the Creating Change conference. A Shabbat service preceding the talk will still take place at the Chicago Hilton, 720 S. Michigan Ave., as originally planned, at 7:30 p.m.
A previous report on the controversy is at www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Task-Force-cancels-Israel-focused-event/53979.html .