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Chicago Dyke March Changes Cartoon Showing American, Israeli Flags Burning

The Chicago Dyke March changed its cartoon showing American and Israeli flags being burned following backlash.

The cartoon, which was posted to the march’s Instagram account on June 20 to advertise for its upcoming June 26 march, initially showed a woman standing on top of a burning police car with the letters “ACAB”—an apparent reference to the “All Cops Are Bastards” slogan—on her rear end. The woman also can be seen holding an Israeli flag in her left hand and an American flag in her right hand, both of which are burning.

Additionally, the march’s Instagram account also shared an image of playing cards stating “Queers for Palestine” and “Zionism is queerphobic” with an image of someone holding a firearm.

Various Jewish groups condemned the cartoon.

“Israel continues to be a safe haven for LGBTQ people around the world,” the American Jewish Committee (AJC) tweeted. “Meanwhile, the Chicago Dyke March continues to traffic in antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment. Their despicable and hateful rhetoric must be denounced by all.”

Stop Antisemitism also tweeted that there are 12 countries in the Middle East and North Africa “where being gay is legally punishable by death” and yet the march “vilifies” Israel and the United States. “Insanity at its finest.”

The Chicago Dyke March announced in a June 22 Instagram post that Instagram had deleted their prior account because of “social media attacks by Z10N1ST who have bombarded our account with threats of violence, racist, sexist and homophobic comments.” The post was accompanied with a graphic stating: “Israel strategically and actively targets queer Palestinians” as well as accusing Israel of “pinkwashing” to “cover up/wash over Israel’s Apartheid regime and ethnic cleansing.” The cartoon now shows the woman holding plain white flags.

A Wider Bridge, an organization that aims to connect LBTQ+ communities in Israel and the United States, tweeted on June 21 that while the initial cartoon had been removed, “the message remains the same unless we hear otherwise: that dykes who wish to attend the Dyke March must choose between their identities. We Refuse to Choose.” They also announced that they are releasing a new image of a Pride Flag with a Star of David on it.