US embassy to boycott Tel Aviv Pride Parade, in Trump-era reversal
Notification of absence sent to Foreign Ministry reportedly refers to ‘LGB community’, in line with Trump administration’s moves against transgender community
The US embassy in Israel will boycott this year’s Tel Aviv Pride parade and will not host any Pride Month events of its own, marking a stark departure from previous years.
A letter from the embassy informing Israel of the decision cited the “priorities of the Trump administration,” which has embraced conservative values and shifted away from support for progressive causes, the Haaretz daily reported.
The letter, sent by email to the Foreign Ministry in February, referred to the “LGB community,” dropping the TQ+ in line with Washington’s policy against recognizing the trans community.
The policy matches a State Department directive to embassies around the world not to cooperate with pride marches, Haaretz reported.
The Tel Aviv Pride march, the largest such event in the Middle East, is set to take place Friday, drawing thousands to the famously open city.
Instead of a parade, Tel Aviv’s Pride events last year culminated in a toned-down rally that highlighted the plight of the hostages and the wartime contributions of soldiers from the LGBTQ community.
The Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel said it was “disappointed that the team from the US Embassy in Israel will be forced to stand on the side instead of marching with us, as they did, with pride and without fear, for years.”
“What begins with the harassment of trans people quickly spirals to the exclusion of an entire community,” it warned in a post to its Facebook page.
Tel Aviv City Council member Reut Naggar, who jointly holds the municipality’s pride portfolio, told Haaretz that in previous years, the US embassy supported the city’s pride march in various ways.
There were no US embassy representatives at the Jerusalem Pride March last week, Haaretz noted in its report. A number of foreign envoys, including the ambassadors from Germany, France, Ireland, and the European Union, did attend.
New US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a devout Evangelical Christian, is himself an opponent of LGBTQ equality.
In 2015, he said asking Christians to accept same-sex marriage is “like asking someone Jewish to start serving bacon-wrapped shrimp in their deli.” He has not since backed down from that position.
Changing minds
Transgender influencer and Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner is to be the guest of honor at the Pride event, which will take place on Friday.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-embassy-to-boycott-tel-aviv-pride-parade-in-trump-era-reversal/