Navigating Complexity: the Swiss Queer Organization Keschet Addresses Rising Tensions and Internal โฃDebates
The current geopolitical climate isโ creating friction within the queer movement, according to the Swiss โassociation Keschet.โ Traditionally built onโ international solidarity and intersectional thinking, the movement is now grappling with internal contradictions,โข particularly regarding the position of โJewish people withinโ broader struggles for liberation.
Keschet argues that some activists,whileโ eager to stand with the oppressed,are overlooking the reality of contemporary anti-Semitism and the fact that Jewish people are themselves โa marginalized group. The organization strives to create space โคfor this complexity, prioritizing โขdialog over confrontation and facilitating events that bring together Jewish and Palestinian queer perspectives. Their aim is to foster awareness without resorting toโข moral judgment.
“Many people don’t even know what anti-Semitic images they are reproducing when they adopt certainโข slogans,” explains Keschet’s board. They point to recent examples, such as theโ advertisement for a โคChristopher Street โDay event in Basel featuring red Hamas triangles, and a speaker concluding a speech with “There is no love without Intifada.” The board highlights the irony of using “love is love” – a slogan centralโ to the fight for marriage equality – alongside a battle cry of a terrorist organization that targets both jews and LGBTQ+ individuals.
Keschet is also engaged in internal reflection, collaborating with partnerโ organizations in Berlin and Dรผsseldorf to refine its arguments and address evolving challenges.This process is further informed by the personal histories of its members.
Rolf Stรผrm, aโข founding member of Keschet and aโค veteran of LGBTQ+ activism in Switzerland, โshares his own journey of “double coming out.” Growing up in Bern with aโ secular upbringing – his mother a โGerman Jew who rarely spoke of herโ persecution, and his father having left the church – Stรผrm sought early orientation,โค declaring his lack of religious belief to his first-grade teacher and acknowledging his difference. โขHe โfound a sense of belonging within the Jewish community at age 14.
Later, after a marriageโค and divorce, Stรผrm embraced โhis homosexuality. Experiences within the gay and lesbian jewish community during a postdoctoral position in Houston further shaped his activism, which he brought back to Switzerland, contributing to the founding of Aids-Hilfe Both Basel, Gayโข Sport, and Queer Officers. He publicly โคidentified as Jewish while an officer candidate in 1972 and came out as gay as a โฃcaptain in 1984, even refusing to donate blood in protest โof the discriminatory ban on gay men donating due โคto HIV concerns.
Stรผrm emphasizes that identities aren’t simply intersecting, but rather forming โa union. He advocates for young people to leverage their diverse skills instead of competing for recognition as victims. He stresses theโข importance of openness and honesty, particularly inโ combating anti-Semitism. “Queerness means enduring differences,” he concludes. “This also applies when it comes to Jewish identity. It doesn’t require complete unity – just a willingness to listen to one another.”
(Imageโ caption from the original article is retained): A Pride Parade in Tel Aviv (archive photo). Foto: picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS
