JDCA & Other Jewish Groups Come Together to Reject DC Dyke March’s Exclusion of Jews

JDCA joined a Wider Bridge and Zioness Movement in releasing the following statement in response to the DC Dyke March for the exclusion of Jewish iconography.

JDCA & Other Jewish Groups Come Together to Reject DC Dyke March’s Exclusion of Jews

WASHINGTON-We deeply regret that the DC Dyke March leadership, when challenged by our diverse coalition of Jewish Dykes and allies to correct course, has chosen instead to double down on their troubling and misguided policy to ban the most identifiable Jewish iconography, the Magen David (Star of David).

Organizers of the March defended the ban by stating “We are asking people to not bring nationalist symbols because violent nationalism does not fit with our vision of queer liberation.” Yet when it comes to Palestinian flags, the organizers asserted, “We choose to prioritize Palestinian lives and justice in Palestine over lazy symbols.”

The Palestinian flag is no less representative of a national movement than the Israeli flag, so this attempted justification is absurd. More importantly, the Star of David, which adorns the flag of the Jewish state, is also the universal symbol of the Jewish people. Describing the Magen David as a “lazy symbol” is deeply offensive, and singling it out for exclusion is discriminatory, plain and simple.

As we observe this month the 50-year struggle toward acceptance and freedom since the Stonewall riots, we remember that there will always be individuals seeking to drive artificial wedges between coalitions of solidarity. Today, those individuals seek to undermine queer, Jewish and Muslim voices working to advance all of our communities, using the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a pretext for division. We reject this approach and plan to march in solidarity with the LGBTQ community, in support of the Jewish values of inclusiveness and equality, and in opposition to antisemitism in America and around the world.

A Wider Bridge, Zioness Movement, and the Jewish Democratic Council of America invite local friends and supporters to join us in marching at the DC Dyke March on Friday, June 7 with every part of authentic ourselves, with the Jewish symbols and flags we hold dear. Dykes and allies interested should visit www.Zioness.org for details.

Signed
A Wider Bridge
Zioness Movement
Jewish Democratic Council of America