Much derision has been directed toward homosexuals who have voiced support for the people of Gaza.

In June, New York Post published a video of a Pride March that took place in New York City. Activists held signs that said things like “No Pride in Genocide,” referring to the ongoing bombing of Gaza. Predictably, people in the comments mocked those who participated. The top comment said, “go to Palestine and see how they treat you.”

Conservatives have been especially vitriolic, claiming that such activists are idiotic, ignorant, and even antisemitic. Why? Because homosexuals have been tortured and executed by Hamas, and because Palestinians suspected of being gay have fled to Israel to escape harassment and violence from their neighbors. What is the leap from this to the assertion that homosexuals should not object to the killing of thousands of Palestinians? No such connection is ever made. Apparently, if some Gazans mistreat homosexuals, then homosexuals should wish death and destruction upon all of them. 

Though lacking explicit argumentation, critics have tried to show the absurdity of groups like “Queers for Palestine” by creating fake organization names like “Blacks for the KKK.” One of the problems with this joke is that the goals of such a group could conceivably align with the values that many Americans claim to cherish. If the KKK were being censored—never mind bombed—then a group of black people who valued the ethical underpinnings of the constitution would be remiss if they did not defend the KKK’s right to speak freely. 

The bigger problem with the joke is that the name is not actually analogous to “Queers for Palestine.” Palestine is a place, not an organization, and as such has no unifying doctrine or ideology. A more apt comparison would be an organization formed during WW2 called “Jews for Dresden.” Dresden was a city bombed by the Allies during WW2 and which, according to some historians, had little strategic significance. The casualties of the bombing were mostly women and children. Unlike the bombing of Palestine, the bombing of Dresden was carried out over four days. Imagine if it were bombed for years, the bodies of women and children piling up every day. Would Jews have been wrong to object? 

None of this is to say that the LGBTQ+ people who are participating in this advocacy are not ignorant of the treatment of homosexuals in Gaza. They may well be the fools that the media has made them out to be, but they are not fools simply for advocating for the lives of Gazans while being gay. This is a foolish talking point that many commentators have parroted, tacitly endorsing the view that it is acceptable to condemn innocents to death because they are part of a group that includes many members who oppose your way of life.