The so-called "Chicago Dyke March" is facing criticism of alleged anti-Semitism.
Three individuals who carried rainbow pride flags with Jewish Stars of David in the center were asked to leave the parade, according to a report by the LGBTQ newspaper The Windy City Times. They were told that the flag "made people feel unsafe" and that the parade had a "pro-Palestinian" and "anti-Zionist" perspective.
It is worth noting that none of these flags were Israeli. They were simply Jewish, something that the people who raised objections assumed could be automatically conflated with Zionism.
"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," Laurel Grauer, who was brandishing one of the flags, told The Windy City Times.
This isn't the first time that anti-Zionism has become a controversial issue in the Chicago gay rights community. In January 2016, anti-Zionist protesters chanted outside of a gay activism conference with Jewish participants by chanting, "Hey hey, ho ho, pinkwashing has got to go."
Pinkwashing refers to Israel's touting of its strong pro-gay rights record, which anti-Zionists claim is used to distract from its alleged human rights abuses against Palestinians.
This also isn't the first time that a left-wing activist movement has faced criticism for trying to push out Zionists. Feminist Linda Sarsour stirred up controversy in March when she insisted that Zionists could not also be feminists.
"ou either stand up for the rights of all women, including Palestinians, or none. There’s just no way around it," Sarsour told The Nation.
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