Out! Raleigh Pride and the LGBT Center of Raleigh have taken an action inspired by the Palestinian call to boycott, divest, and sanction those supporting Israeli apartheid.
The groups rejected sponsorships from companies benefiting from apartheid and genocide, including boycott target Siemens and pressure target Google, among others.
Our economic choices are impactful and important, and we’re inspired that Raleigh Pride rejected major sponsors benefitting from the genocide in Gaza.
At the same time, they highlighted the deep connections between Palestinian liberation and queer liberation: Out! Raleigh Pride encourages us to remember that “queer and trans Palestinians in Gaza are also undergoing the genocide inflicted by Israel.”
As an organization led by and consisting largely of queer and trans Jews, JVP Triangle is profoundly grateful for this leadership from Out! Raleigh Pride.
Raleigh may be the first major pride celebration in the country to become BDS compliant, and we look to peer groups around the U.S. and beyond to follow their lead.
This local BDS win did not happen overnight and was the result of significant organizing and relationship-building, led primarily by the NC State chapter of YDSA.
This commitment to BDS calls on all of us to recommit to Pride Month as a struggle for the collective liberation and dignity of humanity. Thank you to Out! Raleigh Pride and the LGBT Center of Raleigh. Folks interested in supporting their work can sign up to:
As our comrades at Raleigh Pride said:
There’s no pride in genocide!
Jewish Voice for Peace Triangle NC 