In Palestinian Arab culture, there’s one thing worse than being a suspected Israeli sympathizer: being gay or lesbian.
That’s the view of “Tareq,” a gay Palestinian man who recently wrapped up a speaking tour of American college campuses. Among his stops, Stanford University and U.C. Santa Cruz.
The Zionist Organization of America sponsored Tareq’s college tour. That a Palestinian Arab would be willing to join forces with the ZOA points up just how dire a situation gay and lesbian Palestinians face today.
Tareq (not his real name) lives a life cloaked in anonymity for fear he will be hurt or killed. Nine years ago, he fled his Palestinian home for the safety and freedom of Israel, an option many other lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Palestinian Arabs have had to make.
Most Palestinian Arabs view such a move as treasonous. Still, Tareq has no regrets. “It was difficult,” he says in a phone interview from New York. “But it’s much better than living under threat. That’s why I chose to live in Israel. It’s a lot safer despite the hardships.” Today he has minimal contact with his family, and continues to hide his true identity.
“It’s important to raise up this issue,” he says. “It’s always hidden. So few people know what’s happening in Israel and with the Palestinian Authority’s treatment of gays. It’s a human rights issue.”
Tareq says gays and lesbians are routinely arrested and tortured by Palestinian Authority police. If the cops don’t get them, their families will, as honor killing is a common “solution” to the discovery a family member is gay, according to Tareq.
Tareq has been able to live an openly gay life in Israel, which has fostered his genuine affection for Israelis and Jews. “My best friends are Israelis,” he says. “I’m happy to have freedom in Israel.”
By contrast, many of his gay Arab friends have led lives of constant misery. He tells the story of Adam, a 17-year-old in Gaza. Says Tareq, “When his family found out, his father, a sheik, wanted to kill him. But Adam managed to run away. The secret police arrested him and at the police station, they tortured him. He was released because of the help of a secretly gay Palestinian police officer.”
Today, Adam lives in Europe.
Given that America’s college campuses are often hotbeds of anti-Israel activity, it’s no surprise that Tareq was not always greeted cordially on his recent tour.
“I got mainly positive responses,” he says, “but in some campuses we had groups of people, including Jews and Arabs, Muslims and Christians, who didn’t like talking about this issue. They think it’s not important. But this issue is no less important than the political issue.”
Others he met were supportive of Tareq’s efforts and told him so. “After the lectures,” he notes, “they encouraged me so much, and said, ‘We appreciate what you’re doing.'”
The warm response has inspired Tareq to form Malja (Arabic for “refuge”), an organization geared to helping LGBT Palestinian Arabs.
Meanwhile, with the winds of change blowing through Palestinian politics in the wake of Yasser Arafat’s death, Tareq has his fingers crossed that life may improve for gay and lesbian Arabs living in the territories.
“I’m always optimistic,” he says. “Hopefully someone from the new leadership will be courageous and raise this issue. Someday there has to be a change. People there are suffering.”