PRIDE, Kehlani, Mamdani, and Democratic Party Leader Boycotts

"There is an unprecedented attack on the LGBTQ+ community and now is not the time to back off our full support."

There seem to be too many Democrats looking for excuses to capitulate these days. The most recent examples of this are in New York and San Diego. In the former area a young charismatic son of immigrants won the Democratic Party nomination for mayor against the efforts of traditional Democratic Party leaders. An all too unfortunate local example is the group of local elected officials who have withdrawn from participation in this month’s Pride Festival. The reason for both of these disturbing reactions on the part of mainstream Party leaders is the same: accusations of antisemitism.

Both Zohran Mamdani in New York and Kehlani here in San Diego have said they support the Palestinian cause by using the same terms: “long live the intifada” or sometimes “globalize the intifada.” In some ways, the use of antisemitism in opposition to both these individuals is even more disturbing here in San Diego than in New York. In New York it meant the old guard of the Democratic Party following into line to support a disgraced Democratic ex-governor. While in San Diego it has meant the failure to participate in the annual Pride parade/festival at a time the LGBTQ+ community is under unprecedented attack by the Trump administration.

Before I analyze in depth the accusations, let me state my own position. I consider Hamas a terrorist organization and condemn the attack of Oct 7, 2023. But I am even more horrified by the Israeli response to that attack. The war crimes Israel has engaged in has not only murdered tens of thousands, used starvation as a weapon of war, left the Gaza strip a pile of rubble, but also been condemned by every major human rights organization as war crimes. The fact that there is an arrest warrant out on the leader of Israel for war crimes issued by the International Criminal Court should horrify anyone who believes in human rights. It should also be acknowledged that these same human-rights organizations AND the ICC have also declared the acts of Hamas to be war crimes with similar warrants out for the leaders of that organization.

But I want to consider the terms that have set off so many Democratic Party leaders both here and in New York. Statements like “long live the intifada”, “globalize the intifada,” and “From the River to the Sea, Palestine shall be free” are those that have motivated the accusations of antisemitism. I have previously addressed the use of this latter phrase in the pages of this Substack, so I will focus on the use of the term “intifada.”

The actual meaning of this term is an “Arabic word for a rebellion, uprising, or a resistance movement. It can also be used to refer to a civilian uprising against oppression.” The term itself is obviously not antisemitic or supportive of violence against Israelis. However, as the American Jewish Committee points out, the two episodes of the Intifada in Israel/Palestine, did involve such acts of violence—specifically terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians.

Suicide bombings targeted at civilians are unacceptable, just as are indiscriminate bombings from U.S. supplied jets. All of these acts have been condemned by human rights organizations. However, it is important to remember that the violence of the intifadas was disproportionately inflicted on Palestinians (ratios vary between 10 to 1 and 3 to 1). We believe that violence inflicted on civilians by either side is unacceptable, but that condemnation must also apply to the disproportionate response of Israel during both the Intifada and the terrorist attack of Oct 7.

Finally, the acts of terrorism during the intifadas were often a response to Israeli attacks on Palestinians which themselves were the result of attacks by Palestinians on Israelis fueling a cycle of violence. Organizations such as Amnesty International have condemned both the acts of terrorism by Palestinians as well as Israeli actions that both preceded and followed them. In the mist of this kind of cycle of violence the most principled response is to follow the demands of third-party human rights organizations and call for the immediate end to it all.

To return to the issues closer to home, the fact that a politician like Mamdani or a singer like Kehlani have said things in moments of anger that are not wise should not stop us from a principled evaluation of their meaning. We can disagree with some of these statements without using antisemitism as a club to attack them. We believe as progressives that antisemitism is a real and growing problem that MUST be taken seriously. But this seriousness means not allowing the use of this term to become a weapon to label anything critical of Israel. We need to keep the moral power of the struggle against antisemitism, and this does just the opposite.

Thus, here in San Diego, I call on those of our leaders who have decided to boycott Pride because of some of Kehlani’s statements to reconsider. There is an unprecedented attack on the LGBTQ+ community and now is not the time to back off our full support. We know these politicians have the right to object to a discourse with which they disagree, so argue, criticize, or publish a statement, but don’t boycott an embattled community event under these circumstances. We need our leaders showing courage and the kind of heroism that stands up against threats from the powerful, NOT bending the knee to it.

Gregg Robinson is a long-time activist, retired Grossmont College Sociology professor, San Diego County Board of Education member, and a member of the AFT Guild, Local 1931 Retiree Chapter.