Statement from the Board of Directors on Israel-Palestine
"The language of suffering and concrete daily life, of the body, family, work, and ordinary love, always said more about actual relations between Israel and the Arabs than any number of 'peace plans.'"
— Edward Said, "The End of the Peace Process: Oslo and After" (2000)
“Until Palestine is free and people in Palestine are able to live as citizens or political actors in a world that they help to craft [...] we will continue to see violence.”
— Judith Butler, “The War and Peace Report” in Democracy Now! (10/26/23)
As a nonprofit counseling agency that provides talk therapy to our clients, we understand the profound impact that language and dialogue have on emotional well-being. Our work has taught us the importance of nuanced discourse, especially when tackling topics as complex and emotionally charged as the Israel-Palestine conflict that has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent civilians, mostly innocent women and children.
Just as we advocate for a deeply respectful conversation around LGBTQIA+ identity and mental health rooted in the intersectional experiences of each person, we call for a similar complexity in discussing the Israel-Palestine conflict. Social media often reduces complex issues into binary, polarized points of view, but we must resist this tendency. Nuance is not only respectful but necessary for meaningful dialogue. Just as labeling someone solely based on their sexual orientation or gender identity has the potential to “other” them into a stereotype, so does reducing the Israel-Palestine conflict into two simplified narratives. This reduction often obscures the real, lived experiences of innocent Jewish and Palestinian people caught in the middle, fueling divisiveness and misunderstanding.
That being said, as the conflict has evolved before our eyes, there can no longer be any doubt about what is happening to the Palestinian people. We must employ accurate language to describe what is taking place: genocide.
Language is more than a mere communication tool; it reflects our deeply held beliefs and impacts our emotional health. At Queer LifeSpace, we emphasize the use of affirming and accurate language to describe the unique challenges faced by the LGBTQIA+ community. In this vein, we strongly advocate for language that humanizes rather than dehumanizes in discussing the Israel-Palestine conflict. In the same vein, we must also use language that accurately labels what we are witnessing happen before our very eyes.
As the queer community knows all too well, long-term use of dehumanizing language can lead to devastating outcomes. When taken to its extreme in geopolitical conflicts, it can result in the ethnic cleansing of civilians. This can be observed in the treatment of the Uyghurs in China, the Masalit of Western Darfur, the Rohingya in Myanmar, the Tigrayans in Ethiopia, the Nuer in South Sudan, and recently, the ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave in Azerbaijan. These instances exemplify how language can shape attitudes and ultimately influence dire actions on a societal scale, which we are seeing unfold in real-time with the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Queer LifeSpace takes a clear stance for all oppressed peoples. We stand in solidarity with Palestinians and all communities impacted by ongoing genocide and condemn the genocidal attacks against innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza, perpetrated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu. We also unequivocally condemn the terror attacks committed by Hamas against innocent Israeli civilians on October 7th and demand the safe release and return of all hostages. We call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the current conflict, and an end to the genocide of Palestinians who have endured decades of hardship.
These heinous acts committed against the civilian population of Gaza and Israel must stop immediately. Witnessing genocide in this age of social media and 24/7 new cycles has a profound and long-lasting impact on our mental health.
Finally, we encourage everyone to engage in discussion and debate that employs respectful, humanizing language while facilitating learning and emotional growth. There aren’t just two sides in a conflict this complex and emotionally charged, with many forces of systemic oppression at play. The road to understanding is long and emotionally taxing, but it is one we must traverse with intentionality, aiming to foster greater compassion and emotional well-being for all.
Sincerely,
The Board of Directors of Queer LifeSpace