Dyke March organizers said they took the Chicago experience into account when crafting their policies. The move is reminiscent of a controversy from 2017 when the Chicago Dyke March kicked out marchers waving pride flags with Stars of David on them, claiming that they were too reminiscent of the Israeli flag and thus “made people feel unsafe.”ĭ.C.
The New Synagogue Project did not respond to a request for comment. “It really is a shame that Israel took this symbol of Judaism and turned it into this nationalist symbol….I understand the Jewish pride flag is a symbol that a lot of Jews have come to embrace, but there are so many other Jewish symbols that we can use to express our Judaism, like a Star of David, like a yarmulke, a tallit.”Īlong with IfNotNow, an independent minyan called the New Synagogue Project was listed on the Dyke March’s website as a “community partner,” which Gaines described as just showing solidarity and not necessarily being involved in planning the event. “The issue is where the Star of David is positioned in a way that looks like an Israeli flag, it creates an unsafe space,” she said. American flags aren’t welcome either, but a Palestinian flag would be accepted, Gaines told the Forward. Campbell, the founder of the lesbian Jewish group Nice Jewish Girls. The march will also ban “nationalist symbols,” including flags that represent what event organizer Yael Horowitz called “nations that have specific oppressive tendencies.” “This includes Israeli flags, as well as flags that resemble Israeli flags, such as a pride flag with a Star of David in the middle,” march organizer Rae Gaines - who is herself Jewish and a member of the left-wing Jewish group IfNotNow - wrote via Facebook Messenger to would-be participant A.J. Dyke March is designed to include people of diverse races, religions and gender identities who feel excluded from the more mainstream Pride parade, organizers told The Washington Post.
has been criticized by Jewish and LGBTQ groups for banning Jewish and Israeli symbols from its Friday event.