Quit Actions In Support of 
Divestment and Boycott of Israel

April 2010
No Pinkwashing of War Crimes

Queers who support human rights protested outside the Roxie Theater on Thursday, April 8th, the opening night of the Out In Israel LGBT Cultural Festival. Out in Israel is a marketing event series aimed at convincing LGBT people in the U.S. that Israel is a cool, progressive, gay-friendly country. This is all part of a public relations scheme by supporters of Israel in this country to repair an image tarnished by atrocities, such as its massacres in Gaza last year.

A recent report by a leading Israeli think tank, alleges that the “deligitimization challenge” to Israel’s policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing radiates out from “hubs,” including the Bay Area. Out in Israel is the first salvo in this new propaganda war, and if last week’s film night was any indication, it’s not having much success. Only about 50 people showed up for the films.

QUIT! called the action, which featured a skit called “Queer Eye for the Palestinian Village.” A couple Queer Guys were called in to give a makeover to a West Bank village so it could be turned into a queer-friendly Jewish settlement. Just rip out those unsightly olive trees, get a Caterpillar bulldozer to get rid of that mosque — so over — and you’ll have a perfect view of Tel Aviv and a great square for nude sunbathing. Oh, but you’ll need some hot Israeli soldiers to come in and kill all the people who are living there.

Read more on Indybay, including the statement from Palestinian groups Aswat and Al Qaws urging queer groups to protest this festival.

Read article in the Bay Area Reporter.

June 20, 2009
Join the International Day of Deshelving Israeli Goods

The end of apartheid stands as one of the crowning accomplishments of the last century, but we would not have succeeded without the help of international pressure. There is no greater testament to the basic dignity of ordinary people everywhere than the divestment movement of the 1980s.  A similar movement has taken shape recently, this time aiming at an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. We should hope that average citizens again rise to the occasion, since the obstacles to a renewed movement are surpassed only by its moral urgency..." Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 2002, http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Israel/Israel_Time_To_Divest.html

Since mid-2001, QUIT! has been working, along with other Bay Area Palestine solidarity groups, to support the international Palestinian-led campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel.

Some of the actions and campaigns we have initiated include:

April 2009, Keep Israeli government out of the LGBT Film Festival.  Last year for the first time in a number of years, the Israeli Consulate was not a sponsor or copresenter at the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival.  While the official reason for this decision was unrelated to the boycott, we believe that the campaign of pressure, and specifically the post cards and letters collected by QUIT and sent to the directors of Frameline, which presents the festival, were instrumental in getting the Israeli government out of the largest queer cultural event in the world.  Read QUIT's letter to Frameline.  We are asking people to contact Frameline now and urge them to discontinue their relationship with the Israeli government. Click here for details.

January 2009, Call to international queer filmmakers to withdraw from the Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival.  Read the call.

Valentine's Day 2007, we are proud to introduce our new Victoria's Secret Weapon line!  Most of Victoria's Secret's bras and some of its other products are produced by the Israeli textile giant Delta Galil.  "Delta Galil is the nation's largest manufacturer and marketer of textiles and is one of the largest private-label underwear manufacturers in the world," reports a 1999 article in The Jerusalem Post. "The company was one of the first local firms to benefit from the peace process, as it moved manufacturing to neighboring countries with low labor costs." QUIT! launched its campaign to show Victoria's customers who's under their underwear with a fashion show at a VS outlet in San Francisco.  View our lovely full-color catalogue!  More info about Delta Galil and Victoria's Secret.

October 2006, we have produced a leaflet to distribute at showings of "Catch a Fire," a film about resistance in South Africa starring Tim Robbins and Derek Luke. We urge other groups to distribute it as well.  Download the flier (MS Word) (view as HTML)

October 2006, we protested an event hosted by the Israeli consulate general at the San Francisco LGBT Center featuring Israeli novelist Alon Hilu.  Read our flier asking queers to respect the cultural boycott. 

2005-2006 QUIT led the international Boycott World Pride campaign, protesting Interpride's decision to hold the second World Pride celebration in occupied Jerusalem.  This campaign grew to include dozens of queer organizations internationally and had a significant effect on the way the event was perceived in the media and in queer communities.  QUIT published op-eds, gave several radio interviews and maintained a website which provided a focal point for diverse boycott efforts.  Learn more about the World Pride Boycott. 

Ongoing Estee Slaughter campaign, targeting the company owned by Ron Lauder, a major supporter of Israel's policies of dispossession and repression of Palestinians.

June 2003, QUIT dropped a banner on stage at the end of the showing of "Yossi and Jagger," at the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival.  The film centers on a gay relationship between Israeli soldiers on the Lebanon border. Coverage of the action.  Read the flier.

2002-3, campaign to deshelve Israeli products at Rainbow Grocery.

2003, Queer Settlers landed on Starbucks, dubbing it "A Cafe without People for People without a Cafe."  Read about this creative direct action which inspired copycat settlements from New York to Australia.

For more information about the international campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions:  http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/boycott-divestment-sanctions.shtml