*MUST READ PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT*
Certain members of Goucher's queer organization, TALQ BIG, have joined together to express our grievances about Gopher Israel’s (A section of Hillel) screening of the film Mom and Dad: I have Something to Tell You. Although we as queer people want everyone to acknowledge queer lives globally, this film specifically is a part of a larger project that has no interest in LGBT+ rights, but rather an interest in protecting Israel’s participation in the apartheid, colonialism and genocide that affects queer Palestinians.

This film is a product of a “pink washing” initiative sponsored by the Israeli consulate that began in 1999 called “Brand Israel” as an attempt to rebrand the nation as a cosmopolitan, “gay-friendly” safe haven for queer people. That notion is simply not true. In reality the Israeli consulate, sponsors the murder and torture of queer Palestinian people, merely because they are Palestinian. The film acts as a tool to distract from this atrocity, and we believe it should be shut down. Universities across the country such as UCLA and American University have also protested to shut down the film.

Although we have consistently spoken to numerous members of the Gopher Israel to share our concerns and have made request to have the event shut down, they have blatantly ignored our request as queer people and have continued the project. We as marginalized queer people who are allies to queer Palestinians abroad, should be the ones to tell our own narrative on this campus, not a group that thinks they know our story. We want to have a discussion about queer life in Israel, but we want to do it in a way that is non-exploitative to queer Palestinians domestically and abroad.

To further our initiative in ending the screening, we are asking that members of the Goucher community, stand with us in solidarity by signing this petition below as a commitment to protesting the film with us on Thursday November 5th from 7:30pm -9:30pm in HS Classroom 134. Thank you for your support! Please share this post if you support this cause!