Sydney Mardi Gras ‘no longer safe’ for gay Jews

A key organisation representing Sydney’s gay Jewish community says it is reconsidering its participation in this year’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and Fair Day events, amid fears for its members’ safety.

Gay Jewish man Mordechai Aryeh Levin says the anti-Israel bias is distressing. Picture: Nikki Short

A key organisation representing Sydney’s gay Jewish community says it is reconsidering its participation in this year’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and Fair Day events, amid fears for its members’ safety following the release of an open letter to Anthony Albanese regarding the Israel-Hamas war by Mardi Gras chief executive Gil Beckwith.

Not-for-profit group Dayenu, which has had a float at Mardi Gras for the past 24 years, says its members are reporting “feelings of distress and a sense of isolation”, which have been compounded by the conduct of the Mardi Gras offshoot group, Pride in Protest.

Pride in Protest, which has members on the Mardi Gras board, recently wrote to its supporters, celebrating the fact Mardi Gras had “ruled out Israeli sponsorship” of the event, and had “written an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to call for a permanent ceasefire in Palestine”.

“This indicates the impact of our campaign on this front,” the group said, announcing that it will be marching with a “Trans Pride, Not Genocide” float at the March 2 Mardi Gras parade “as a symbol of the work that has been and must still be done to bring about a just and equal society”.

Pride in Protest’s actions, and the failure of Ms Beckwith’s letter to mention Hamas, its October 7 killing of 1200 civilians in Israel, its taking of 240 hostages, and its role in breaking ceasefires, has left many Jewish members of the LGBTQIA+ community feeling deeply uncomfortable. “At a time when our members are reporting feelings of distress and a sense of isolation from the LGBTQIA+ community and the wider community it is disappointing that Mardi Gras did not reach out to Dayenu prior to posting an open letter to the Prime Minister,” Dayenu said.

“Dayenu would like to remind our LGBTQIA+ community that Israel offers sanctuary and continues to offer sanctuary to members of our community fleeing oppression and indeed the death penalty at the hands of the internationally recognised terrorist group Hamas within Palestine.

“The rights of the LGBTQIA+ community in Israel are set in law. “Due to an aggressive and ongoing anti-Semitic campaign by Pride in Protest, and a lack of consultation from Mardi Gras, Dayenu is reconsidering our involve­ment in Fair Day and the Mardi Gras Parade. We are concerned for the safety of our members in Sydney’s Queer spaces.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin. Picture: Richard Dobson

Gay Jewish man Mordechai Aryeh Levin said Ms Beckwith’s open letter and Pride in Protest’s plans for a “trans rights, not genocide” float made him feel like there would not be a place for him at the event, as a proud Zionist, who has Moroccan-Israeli heritage on his mother’s side, and a paternal grandmother whose family inhabited pre-mandate Palestine for several generations in the 1800s.

“If we’re not in a place where we can feel safe to express our views and identities to the same degree and with the same freedoms as another group, then this is a serious concern for the future of a multicultural Australia,” Mr Levin said.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said it was “heartbreaking to see Jewish members of the LGBTQIA+ community feeling afraid and marginalised”.

“They have overcome immense challenges because of their LGBTQIA+ identities and now they are facing exclusion in the LGBTQIA+ community because of their Jewish identities. This cannot be allowed to happen,” Mr Ryvchin said.

“LGBTQIA+ Jews are an inseverable part of our community and this attack on them is an attack on us all. We will not allow a band of fanatics who have sided with violent jihadists to intimidate our brothers and sisters.”

Australian Jewish Association CEO Robert Gregory described the open letter as “outrageous”.

“Israel is the only place where LGBT people are safe in the Middle East. Members of the LGBT community face severe persecution under both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. Israel provides a refuge to gay Palestinian Arabs who may otherwise be murdered,” Mr Gregory said.

Mardi Gras organisers did not respond to a request for comment.