The LGBTQ community doesn’t have a Hamas problem; we have a truth problem.

In the early 2020s, a resurgence of harmful tropes casting LGBTQ individuals as predators became widespread among conservatives. As homophobia reared its ugly head in right-wing circles, the LGBT community naturally gravitated left. Soon enough, we were a monolith–uniformly leftist in thought and stance. Anyone who even slightly deviated would be branded the worst thing we can possibly think of: a conservative. 

The “progressive” response to 10/7 led many to conclude that the LGBTQ community has an antisemitism problem; but this is a superficial interpretation. As has often been the case, antisemitism speaks more about societies that allow it to flourish than it does about the Jews. Whether it was the Crusaders, Islamic conquests, medieval Europe, the Soviet Union, or Nazi Germany, history shows that where Jew hate thrives, shit is about to hit the fan–and now is no different. All this is to say that this rise in Jew-hatred from the LGBT community is not actually about Jews, antisemitism, or Hamas; it is about a war on truth.

This is the reason that feminists - who’ve spent the last seven years telling the world to believe women - are so quick to dismiss the mountain of evidence proving Hamas’ use of sexual violence. It also explains why the myth of Marsha P Johnson instigating the Stonewall riots persists. Another vivid illustration of selective truth can be seen with the award-winning drag queen, Katya Zamolodchikova, who insisted that the LGBT experience in Gaza is comparable to that in the USA or UK, arguing, "They will kill us anywhere." 

Now, I’ll address your burning question: if Hamas treats LGBT people so brutally, why do we so fervently and overwhelmingly support them? 

Before October 7, I would have responded that the “Queers for Hamas'' notion was an absurd smear; a stereotype based on a 2018 viral photo from the University of Sydney. 

Ask me the same question today and I will tell you that your inquiry is moot. See, the very premise of this question overestimates the extent to which LGBT people are willing to engage in self-preservation. The underlying assumption is that we are rational actors that, if adequately informed, would act in our own interest. This is not the case. 

We are informed–we know exactly what would happen to us in Gaza, but there are larger issues at play. Lest our quest for justice interfere with virtue signaling. This is true even for the most outspoken activists. Take the following quotes from Matt Bernstein’s Pinkwashing video, for example:

“As a white American gay person…I have been that person reading the list of countries where homosexuality is criminalized and subconsciously letting that justify my own internalized racism...”

“I think a lot of times we get caught up in trying to judge different nations and different views on gay rights by a western standard …like in the west we view the pinnacle of gay rights as having achieved gay marriage but that’s not what it means in a lot of places” 

To be clear, these are the words of one of the most well-known advocacy influencers in the LGBTQ community. So imagine my surprise when Matt - who spent the last four years vehemently denouncing the religious right’s attempts to erode LGBTQ rights - was excusing religiously motivated homophobia. The activist who once proudly proclaimed “religion is fine as long as you don’t use it to tell anyone else how to live” was now adamant that harboring contempt for governments that criminalize queer people is a form of racism. Matt, who purported that the US’ approach to LGBT rights was “barbaric”, was happy to downplay the state of LGBT rights in Gaza, simply noting that it does “not currently hold pride events.” The message is clear: “rights for me but not for thee.”

His subsequent claim that Westerners view marriage as the “pinnacle of LGBT rights” further highlighted his “commitment” to the historical and ongoing struggles for equality that define our movement. From its inception, the LGBT rights movement has advocated for equal rights across the board–not just for white Americans, but for everyone, everywhere. Every right we have fought for–marriage, adoption, privacy, legal protections, etc.-- falls under the umbrella of equality, because that is the ultimate goal. When someone as influential as Matt champions selective equality, it raises a fundamental question: what the fuck are we doing?

The new left has become a religion characterized by blind faith. In the same way that a priest does not want to hear a scientist debunk the notion of immaculate conception, western leftists are not interested in hearing that they are wrong about…anything. This thought epidemic is exacerbated by the common belief that “society has progressed past the need”  to engage in political debate. 

Contrast this with Bari Weiss’ “you are the last line of defense” speech addressing the conservative law student group, the Federalist Society:

“I am a gay woman …I know there are some in this room who do not believe my marriage should have been legal. And that’s okay…I am here because I know that in the fight for the West, I know who my allies are…My allies are people who believe that America is good. That the West is good…America and our values are worth fighting for—and that is the priority of the day.

Bari’s speech made me realize that a majority of our community is actively engaging in self-harm. Not only do we disregard the truth, but we stifle genuine inquiry for fear of ideological retaliation. The slightest dissent or skepticism is treated as defiance and the dissenter is labeled a traitor, which is, funnily enough,  analogous to blasphemy laws in the Islamic Republic.

All this is to say that this rise in Jew-hatred from the LGBT community is not actually about Jews, antisemitism, or Hamas; it is about a war on truth. We now find ourselves at a juncture where this ideological contagion is influencing our understanding of allyship. 

So, TLDR; in a world of Matt Bernsteins, be Bari Weiss.