NEW YORK, NY – This morning, four members of the National Student Council (NSC), a program representing LGBTQ+ high school leaders nationwide under the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), resigned from their positions in solidarity with Palestinian liberation, due to the organization’s silence on the genocide in Gaza and ties to investors in the genocide.
The NSC members resigned after witnessing the horrific ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people by the Israeli government for over the last six months, during which GLSEN continues to remain silent, despite repeated calls from Queer communities across the country for a ceasefire, and for major LGBTQ+ organizations to fight pinkwashing and call for an end to the violence against Palestinians. As the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continue their destruction of Palestinian life, GLSEN sits by and allows the LGBTQ+ community’s name to be weaponized for murder. Likely contributing to this silence from GLSEN is its connections to those profiting off of the genocide: GLSEN will be honoring JP Morgan Chase at their annual Respect Awards, a company that has invested in Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems.
“I think it’s deplorable that “human rights” organizations like GLSEN won’t talk about the genocide in Palestine but will honor those aiding the crimes of Israel, claiming that they’re progressing LGBTQ+ equality while helping Israel’s slaughter,” said Wei Zhou, one of the students who quit the NSC. “We refuse to be complicit in the ongoing occupation and genocide of the Palestinian people done in the name of LGBTQ+ rights. It is the responsibility of GLSEN and other Queer organizations to condemn the IOF for their reprehensible use of "pinkwashing".and to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.”
The students quit via email, after months of asking GLSEN leadership to release a call for ceasefire and stand in solidarity with Palestinian liberation. This group quit is an escalation of months of organizational inaction and silence from GLSEN. At the time of the students quitting, over 32,500 Palestinians had been killed in the attacks from the IOF, with no sign of relent. The necessity of a permanent ceasefire of this horrific occupation is undeniable.
“My sole reason for quitting is that as a young Black and Queer person, I understand the weight of oppression and discrimination,” said V.R., another student who quit the NSC. “Standing with Palestine isn’t just about politics—it’s about doing what’s right, it’s standing in solidarity against injustice. I cannot continue to work alongside an organization that fails to grasp the urgent necessity to cease a brutal genocide.”
The quitting students join many LGBTQ+ groups and allies such as ACT UP New York, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Queers for Liberation, and No Pride in Genocide, in urgently calling upon major LGBTQ+ organizations to break their silence and "neutrality”.