HOMONATIONALISM. Now that I'd had the experience, the relationships could be formed. As 4 consequence of those relationships, we decided on our frst collabora- tive action: bringing Palestinian queer activists to America. And this tour ‘would take place in a dynamic and quickly evolving world context. All my life, my “theory” has emerged organically from my actions. I never engaged theory for its own sake, as I find it causes divisions that action would heal. But as we go about the systematic work of activism, doing concrete things that ereate change, decisions have to continvally be made. Selecting one option over another requires awareness of values and ethical framework, and that is when my theory stats to be formed ‘At the same time, Iam always open to other people's good ideas. And have often been inspired by thei insights and conceptualizations. The tricks to find new words or imaginings that help actions to move forward effectively In the case of Israel/Palestine there was significant thinking in place that was invaluable for our organizing. And among those resources, Jasbir Puar’s articulation of “homonationalism” was a principal inspira- tion. Iwas only when T came back to New York inthe spring of 2010 that I found the words I needed to match my feelings and perceptions. It was then that I learned that what Heike Schotten had called “gay imperialism” ‘was part ofthe larger concept called “homonationalism “Homonationalism’ isa phenomenon identified by Puar, a Rutgers Uni- versity professor and board member of the Audre Lorde Project, in her 2007 book Terrorist Asemblages. Her term is used regularly in academic and activist circles in western Europe and the Middle Eas, and received a broader audience through her column inthe Guardian of London. Homo- nationalism describes a contemporary phenomenon, most prevalent in northem European countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, ‘where white gays, lesbians, and bisexuals (and in some cases transsexuals) hhave won a fall range of legal rights. Through marriage, parenthood, and104 chapter eight family, they become accepted and realigned with patriotic or nationalist ideologies of their countries Instead of being earedas the threat to family, and nation that they were once seen to be, this new integration under the ost normative of terms is held up as symbol of that country’s com- mitment to progress and modernity. Some then identify with the racial and religious hegemony of their countries and join movements opposing immigration or racial and cultural diference. They construct the “other” often Muslims of Arab, South Asian, Turkish, or Aftican origin, as “home- phobic" and fanatically heteroserul Jt a few examples of homonationalism ia soto and sou —In the Netherlands, 2 percent of the readers of Gay Krant,a popular ‘ay magazine, announced their support for Geert Wilders’ anti-immigrant Party for Freedom, —"The campaign ran by openly LGBT groups in the United States against the “dont ask, dont tell” policy emphasized gay participation inthe warsin ‘Afghanistan and lag instead of focusing on discrimination in the military as principally a mater of exclusion from eraployment. —In London, Safta Project, queer Muslim organization asked white gays to cancel pride march in an immigrant neighborhood partially because of its associations withthe English Defense League, a Far Right group. —In Norway, Anders Behring Breivik, who killed scores of Muslim teen- agers at a youth camp, cited American gay writer Bruce Bawer’s anti- ‘Maslim essays among his influences. In no case have homonationalst gays objected to Christian imi. grants, even though fundamentalist Christians are leading antigay cam- paigns in the United States and exporting them with deadly consequences to Uganda and other countries around the world, Puar’s work on homonationalism helped me to see and understand the shifting structures of homophobia and homosenuality in the context of global politics. It was already clear that the LoBT conversation belongs ‘within the famework of global politics, bt because both the news media and the paid leaders of American LoBr organizations have not caught up to this, LoBT events are still seen as fragmented bits of domestic news. ‘When I pitched articles on the rise of the Palestinian queer movement to Harpers and the New Yorker, the editors, who agreed in advance to con- sider the material, lacked the understanding or context to even be able to respond. I had to work very hard to get a pass from Harper’; onceHomonationalsm 305 they saw what the article was actually bout, I never heard back from the "New Yorker. Even though Puar had published extensively in the Guardian ‘of London, none of the American editors whom I contacted knew what “homonationalism” was, since global oBt politics is not a recognized ‘American journalistic beat. IFjournalst ae busy insisting to their readers that gay mariage with a religious exemption in New York State isthe big queer news of the world, there is no way to open their pages te what is happening in queer Palestine. To me, the real story is that while some gay people ae adopting nationalist ant-immigration attitudes and joningim- perialist militaries, others are working together across national boandaries to break down racial and gender exclusion. The activism of L37 people ‘on the questions of border, citizenship, and occupation is producing an international dynamic that has consequences for world politics. Spring 2010 appeared to be an extraordinary moment for these contra- dictions between the assimilating homonationalistic global Lae and the anti-occupation queer international. Over the next four months there ‘would be a complex display of international anxiety about Iscel and Palestine expressed directly and indirectly through queer players and play- ing fields. These conflicts would become apparent in Betkeley, Toronto, Madd, Berlin, Haifa and the courts of Canada and the United Kingdom and back to Ramallah before the summer closed. ‘Armed with these new and evolving understandings, returned to New York at the end of Passover week 2009 and promptly stated organizing the US. tourof Lar Palestinian leaders, which we had determined would take place in February 200. ‘My first decision was to organize the tour by phone, instead ofby Face book or email, because I wanted to talk things over with people. wanted to build the tour in such a way that it would take in key people who were influential in different aspects of the Lest community in the United States, people with credibility among those who knew them. Myidea was to approach some varied folks in trigger positions to create a cumulative response, larger than any single element. So I picked up the phone and called reliable, interesting, divere people whom Uhad known or met over the couse of my previous thirty years of “organizing for justice. Almost everyone I called agreed to participate. The only two people who blew me off were two famous queer theoriss. Every- cone else— organizers, activists, academics, and combinations thereof— immediately said yes. In the proces it became clear to me that folks doeae ote ee ok” baie 105 chapter eight so litle work on the phone these ays that when you actually get in a eal interactive conversation, thee isa better chance of reaching a postive re- sult. For the next ten months [kept up individual conversations with each of the coordinators. In mast othe cities I found someone to moderate the panel who was responsible forthe venue and whatever funding he or she could find. At the same time, in most cities [had to setup a second team to do the on-the-ground orgarizing—which involved everything from get- ting the community tothe events to taking the speakers tothe airport and ‘watching a they went through security. Since my perception—cerrectly or incorrectly —was that Palestinian solidarity politics in the United States is associated by many withthe di- dactic margins, I wanted to avoid existing organizations, venues, and the- toric I wanted this event to be as free of baggage as possible because my ‘geal was to help give Palestine a human face in the Lc37 community in a way that would reach people who were not informed. This meant using conversational language instead of rhetoric. It meant creating events that were fun instead of grim. wanted Palestine to become a normative con- versation for mainstream queers. Besides, I already knew that Haneen, Ghadir, and Sami were Fanay, warm, savvy, sexy, and totally accesible, ‘very far from the gray, humorless image of the iconic oppressed freedom fighter that has evolved in the American imagination. organized six events in diverse relatively neutral but esteemed venues in diferent cities, with facilitators who had credibility and gravitas in those ‘communities. I wanted faciitators who could both protect the speakers from any hostility that might come from audience members and instill trust in that audience Soon I had a rough draft ofthe tout It would start February 2018 in ‘Minneapolis, where the National LaBr Task Force would hold its annual conference: “Creating Change.” The taskforce was once America’s lead- ing policy-oriented LGBT organization. Founded in 1973, it worked with ‘Congresswoman Bella Abzug onthe ist draft of the first gay rights bill in history: Over the years the task force has occupied different postions on the queer continuum depending on how insightful or ineffectual the wildly varied leadership was. At times it seemed like the gay wing of the Demo-