130 LGBT film producers (or “LGBT community” – a term referring to gay, bisexual, and transgender people) have pledged to boycott an upcoming government-sponsored gay film festival in Tel Aviv which should take place in mid-June 2020. The boycott was called by Palestinian queer organizations along with the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, the cultural arm of the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement, known as BDS. The boycotters declared that the reason for their boycott is due to Israeli violations of the Palestinian rights of LGBT.

Organizers said that TLVFest is being used by Israel for so-called “pinkwashing efforts” with the goal of projecting “a progressive image while denying the rights of all Palestinians, queer and non-queer alike.” To check the news, click here