Although Pride Toronto has banned Queers Against Israeli Apartheid from their events, the group vows that
they will march in the parade anyway.
“I don’t think that a suggestion that they don’t like our message should keep us out of Pride,” Queers Against Israeli Apartheid spokeswoman Elle Flanders told the Toronto Star. “So there is an intention to march, and we will find the message that works in that march and we will be there. We need our voice to be heard.” Flanders declined to disclose the banner under which the group will march. Organizers of the July 4 parade, which for years has been a major event in the city, said that Queers Against Israeli Apartheid would be welcomed if it marched under the name Queers in Favor of a Free Palestine, for example. Flanders said her group would not consider such a change, setting up a potential confrontation on the day of the event. Earlier this month, the Canadian government cut funding to the annual parade by dropping it from a tourism stimulus package.
Pride Toronto estimates that they may have lost as much as $300K in new sponsorships over the controversy.
Labels: Canada, gay Pride, Israel, Palestine, Toronto
Although Pride Toronto has banned Queers Against Israeli Apartheid from their events, the group vows that they will march in the parade anyway.
