Chicago Dyke March faces controversy as it bans Jewish flags
(Getty)
Chicago Pride has faced controversy after it banned people from carrying Jewish Star of David flags at the event.
The religious flags have been banned from the Chicago Dyke March, which is part of the larger Pride festivities in the city.
LGBT newspaper Windy City Times reported that three people carrying Jewish Pride flags were asked to leave because they were making “people feel unsafe”.
It’s believed that a Dyke March member told the people the flags were banned because the march was “anti-Zionist” and “pro-Palestinian”.
Laurel Grauer was one of the people told that she could not carry the LGBT-themed Jewish flag.
She said that she was told the flag was an offensive trigger to some people.
She said: “It was a flag from my congregation which celebrates my queer, Jewish identity which I have done for over a decade marching in the Dyke March with the same flag.”
“They were telling me to leave because my flag was a trigger to people that they found offensive.”
Organisers for the sect have been accused of anti-Semitism and failing to promote inclusivity by creating the ban.
The Dyke March prides itself for being a “more inclusive” alternative to the main Pride event.
On Twitter, the group celebrates themselves as being the “anti-racist, anti-violent, volunteer-led, grassroots mobilisation and celebration of dyke, queer, bisexual, and transgender resilience”.
Eleanor Shoshany-Anderson is another participant who was told to leave because of the flag she was holding.
She explained that she did not understand why her intersectionality as a queer Jewish person was not being accepted.
“The Dyke March is supposed to be intersectional. I don’t know why my identity is excluded from that. I felt that, as a Jew, I am not welcome here,” she said.
