While the radical Left in the West has hijacked the LGBT-movement to demand the boycott and destruction of Israel, the gay Palestinians seek refuge in the Jewish State, the only safe place for them in the entire Middle East.
On Sunday, the Israeli government agreed to grant work visas to gay Palestinians fleeing persecution in the West Bank. The decision was announced at a hearing of the Israeli parliamentary Committee for Foreign Workers, the Israeli media reported.
The parliamentary body also recommended a job training program for gay Palestinians seeking new life in Israel. The Knesset “committee chair concluded the discussion by calling on the Welfare and Finance Ministries to create a vocational training program,” the Jerusalem Post reported Monday.
The Times of Israel reported the Israeli decision:
LGBT Palestinians fleeing persecution in the West Bank will be allowed to work in the country, ending years being allowed to reside in Israel but little else, the Israeli government told the High Court on Sunday night.“They had no access to work, to health care, to welfare services. And so what we’d see over time is that their situation would deteriorate. These are people who already arrive here traumatized, after being attacked and persecuted,” said Naama Sabato, a social worker at the Agudah rights group.The change in policy followed a joint petition by several rights groups, including Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, the HIAS refugee rights nonprofit, and the Agudah.Although LGBT Palestinians have become more outspoken in recent years, gay rights remain controversial in conservative, religious Palestinian society. Palestinians who come out can face societal rejection or abuse — or, in the worst case, life-threatening danger.A gay West Bank Palestinian who testified before the Knesset on Monday described how his family had tried to kill him after they learned of his sexual orientation.
The news comes amid relentless crackdown on the gay community in the Palestinian-held territories. Last week, music performance by a Jerusalem-based Arab gay singer was cancelled in the West Bank after a barrage of violent threats from the locals.
“A concert that was supposed to take place in Ramallah over the weekend for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community was called off following threats from Palestinian activists,” the Jerusalem Post reported Saturday.
It is ironic to see radical groups like Queers-For-Palestine trying to dominate “pride parades” and other social events in the U.S. and Europe, while Palestinian queers, gays and lesbians are fleeing for their lives and seeking refuge in the only safe haven for them in the region — Israel.
These anti-Israel groups ignore the plight of gay Palestinians, and accused Israel of “Pinkwashing” for being a refuge for Arabs persecuted for their homosexuality.
Meanwhile, homosexuality remains illegal in the Palestinian Territories. Gays living under the Palestinian rule fear for their lives, often from own their family members. In Hamas-controlled Gaza, they can face death penalty for being even a closeted gay.
According to the Pew poll on “Global Acceptance of Homosexuality” conducted in 2013, the Palestinian Territories ranked with the bottom 10, with 96 percent of population rejecting homosexuality. A 2019 survey on public attitudes across the Arab world found that “Palestinians harbored the most intolerance toward gay relations,” the Jerusalem Post noted.
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