Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Pinkwashing Protesters Shut Down Gay Jewish Shabbat Event

Hundreds of protesters sought to disrupt a Shabbat service and reception for Jewish participants at a gay activism conference in Chicago.

Chanting “Hey hey, ho ho, pinkwashing has got to go,” the protesters streamed through the Hilton Chicago on Friday night toward the service hosted by A Wider Bridge, a Jewish LGBTQ organization that seeks to build ties between gay communities in North America and Israel.

Pinkwashing is the term used to described alleged efforts by Israel to cover up its treatment of Palestinians by touting its record on gay rights.

The program, which featured members of Jerusalem Open House, a gay activist organization based in the Israeli capital, had earlier been canceled by The National LGBTQ Task Force, which organizes the Creating Change conference. The organization later reversed its decision.

A statement Saturday from A Wider Bridge said protesters had entered the reception and taken over the stage, preventing the visiting Israelis from speaking.

“Last night the values of free speech and respectful communication that we all value and that should be the hallmark of the Creating Change conference were replaced by a disgraceful authoritarian-like action that seeks to silence the voices of anyone the protesters feel don’t adhere to their rigid dogma,” the statement said. “Lies and gross distortions about A Wider Bridge and Israel were being repeated throughout the conference and at the protest. We look forward to working with the leadership of the Task Force to ensure that Creating Change can be a welcoming and safe space for LGBT people, Jews and non-Jews, who care about Israel.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.