A ROW has broken out among the LGBT+ community over the official Pride event in Glasgow.
Campaigners with the group No Pride in Genocide have written an open letter it said had been signed by 230 people including local businesses and organisations, accusing Glasgow's Pride of working with companies “complicit in Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians”.
Glasgow’s Pride, the company behind the city’s official Pride event, boasts companies including JP Morgan Chase and Merck among its “proud partners”, both of which have a presence in Israel.
None of the companies listed as “proud partners” are on the list of companies pro-Palestine activists are encouraged to boycott through the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign.
In a response to the open letter, Glasgow’s Pride accused its critics of trying to “segregate the LGBTQIA+ community”.
In a statement posted to social media, the company said: “Pride is about LGBTQIA+ equality and inclusion, now crucial due to direct attacks. It's not about other legitimate causes (Gaza, climate), which have separate Glasgow processions. Using Pride for these dilutes the focus on LGBTQIA+ rights and pinkwashes other issues.”
The company added that it had no “sponsors” for its event on July 19.
Other demands in the open letter included asking the firm to come out against the Israeli “pinkwashing” – a term used to describe institutions which adopt LGBT+-friendly messages and marketing strategies to court the gay community.
It is an accusation often levelled at Israel because the country’s defenders often portray it as a lone haven of LGBT+ safety in a part of the world where gay people are often criminalised or discriminated against.
No Pride in Genocide also called on the company to signal “solidarity” with the “most marginalised in our community, with a focus on trans rights”, in light of the Supreme Court ruling on the biological definition of sex.
The company said they “actively support” trans people and said it would “fight for their safety and rights”.
The Supreme Court ruling has led to a roll-back in trans people’s rights, including bans on trans women playing women’s football and using female toilets in the Scottish Parliament.
Elsewhere, campaigners demanded that performers at the event should be given priority if they are local to Glasgow and should get “fair treatment and remuneration”. The company said: “We use openly supportive LGBTQIA+ talent.
“We cannot force performers and we do negotiate within the available budgets. We receive no government grants or funding from the groups that have signed the demand letter.”
