Keshet Statement on Creating Change 2019

Following the protest at the 2019 annual LGBTQ Task Force Creating Change conference, Keshet made the following statement:

“Every year, the Creating Change conference is a site of protest. Whether the topic is police brutality, exclusion of trans women of color, or Israel-Palestine, disruptive activism is part of the culture of the conference. This is important context for understanding the action at this year’s conference in which activists demanded engagement with Israel-Palestine issues at Creating Change and called for solidarity with Palestinians.

To be clear, we believe that there is no room for anti-Semitism in the LGBTQ rights movement or in any other liberation movement. While we believe that criticism of Israel is at times anti-Semitic, we do not believe that it is necessarily anti-Semitic. In the case of this year’s Creating Change conference, we view blanket accusations of anti-Semitism as inflammatory and divisive. They do nothing to move forward conversations about anti-Semitism in America.

Over the past two years, we have seen a dramatic increase in acts of anti- Semitism as well as expressions of racism, Islamophobia, anti-immigrant sentiment, and homo/transphobia in the U.S. Diversity of identities and voices makes us stronger, and only together can we fight bigotry and violence in our country.

**** About Keshet: Keshet works for the full equality of all LGBTQ Jews and our families in Jewish life. We strengthen Jewish communities. We equip Jewish organizations with the skills and knowledge to build LGBTQ-affirming communities; create spaces in which all queer Jewish youth feel seen and va