Editor in Chief of the Israeli gay portal GoGay writes an op-ed about the new gay right-wing Knesset Member Amir Ohana, and the complex dynamics in which he works: “Amir Ohana is the product of a real social revolution achieved by decades of struggle and difficult points – not the revolution itself.”
Xenophobia, marking communities as ‘others,’ deprivation of rights and/or access to resources for “offensive” populations and so on, are all an integral part of the right-wing parties’ practices and the rhetoric of its leaders. The right-wing in general and the Likud party in particular are seen as national champions in increasing the separations, gaps and non-understanding between different sectors of Israeli society. It sometimes seems that that’s what they do, a part of their cultural, sociological, literal DNA.
In such a climate, an openly gay MK, a parent with a family – and in the Likud – sounds like an imaginary scenario, perhaps even utopian. Yet, this is the reality in which we live. Somehow the social circumstances have joined into this delusional and double morality script. On the one hand, the ruling party torpedoes and removes from the agenda almost any relevant discussion or bill for basic and elementary rights of the LGBT community (law interpretation is a good example of such an act). On the other hand, in the same party, there is a gay MK, who came to the Knesset with the whole package: a partner, children, and especially a statement that sends a clear message about the transformation that the Likud, and society as a whole have been through in recent years.
This is a complex situation. On one hand we are asked to criticize Ohana, who declared in advance that if necessary he will vote against the community and align with the policies of the Likud. On the other hand, it is very easy to forget the complex dynamics in which he works. The need to sidestep, to balance between interests, to be faithful to your principles even at the price of eliminating other principles that may be equally important for you.
We could and perhaps should criticize Ohana and his declarations, to attack his decision (that is strange to me, stupid and dangerous) to provide ease of bearing arms, and be concerned about his limited loyalty to the LGBT struggle. Or, simply, to realize that he’s a right-wing Likud man before everything and above everything, and end once and for all the link between sexual identity and public persona; to stop looking for people to represent the struggle for “all of us,” to stop putting our hopes in a Knesset member only because he’s “one of us,” and internalize that there will be gays who will fight for struggles that are not related, perhaps even contradictory, to the LGBT struggle; who on the one hand will bring children into the world through surrogacy and on the other hand will vote against surrogacy if the Prime Minister decides they must do so. Yes, it’s absurd, and even a bit surreal. Welcome to Israeli politics of 2016.
http://awiderbridge.org/not-our-representitive/
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