Human Rights Campaign Rejects Weapons Company Sponsorships After Pressure Around Israel Genocide

Following years of organizing by LGBTQ activists advocates for queer rights and Palestinian solidarity broadcasted Tuesday that the Human Rights Campaign one of the largest LGBTQ organizations in the world has stopped taking cash from manufacturers Northrop Grumman and Raytheon according to the message from the Gender Liberation Movement and Adalah Justice Project Protesters had accused HRC of pinkwashing a term used to describe the use of Israel s publicly pro-LGBTQ stance to distract from its violations of Palestinians human rights Organizations like HRC can no longer prioritize proximity to power over the well-being of our people Organizations like HRC can no longer prioritize proximity to power over the well-being of our people nor center inclusion in the very systems that are killing us disclosed the announcement from the Gender Liberation Movement and Adalah Justice Project Freedom equality and justice for our queer and trans siblings here can only be achieved when we collectively confront the systems that are harming communities everywhere Neither Northrop Grumman nor Raytheon which rebranded as RTX in this instant responded to requests for comment Both weapon-makers have been seen as profiting off Israel s genocide in Gaza Raytheon and Northrop Grumman s stock prices spiked after October as Israel ramped up its attacks Since Israel s assault on Gaza HRC s sponsorships had increasingly come in for criticisms from sympathetic celebrities speaking out on Gaza At a February protest outside HRC s annual gala protesters condemned the groups sponsorship by Northrop Grumman Related Corporate Pride Is Dying Good HRC s initiatives that are meant to benefit us are being funded by a weapons manufacturer Not cute not queer actor Indya Moore reported the crowd of protesters Their bullets their bombs and their missiles are massacring Palestinians who are also queer and trans and deserving of a human rights campaign While accepting HRC s own Visibility Award for LGBTQ representation in March actor Hannah Einbinder condemned the silencing of the Palestinian struggle and the ongoing genocidal war and called out oil companies like Shell and BP for their role in the state predicament Investigations have shown that BP s oil supply is deeply involved in Israel s war machine Einbinder has repeatedly called attention to Palestine and boycotting Israel s warfare In September she made headlines for calling for a free Palestine during her Emmy acceptance speech and the same month she joined a boycott organized by Film Workers for Palestine against Israeli film institutions implicated in the Gaza war and apartheid against the Palestinian people A message provided to The Intercept from HRC didn t directly address the weapons firms sponsorships but cast the latest moves in light of the group s long-held positions against extremism While our focus is on LGBTQ equality in the United States we have spoken out about the dilemma the rising cost of extremism in the United States and around the globe and how Islamophobia anti-semitism and anti-LGBTQ hatred are globally linked a spokesperson for HRC mentioned We have also championed the right to protest here in the United States as it and other pro-democratic principles are being undermined and threatened by this administration Adalah and Gender Liberation Movement explained that pro-Palestine groups including No Pride in Genocide and Writers Against the War on Gaza had pushed for this move since at least October Related MIT Professor Cancels Israeli Military Grant After Attendee Pressure Highlighting Northrop Grumman in particular for its production of weapons used in Israel s genocide against Gaza the Adalah and the Gender Liberation Movement report says These are tools of state-sanctioned destruction and death not of human rights or equality and they do not distinguish between queer and straight lives The two groups also noted in their message that HRC did not commit to permanently rejecting cash from any weapons manufacturers nor did it adhere to organizers demands to call for an arms embargo on Israel The report says Our work is not finished and we remain committed to the struggle The post Human Rights Campaign Rejects Weapons Company Sponsorships After Pressure Around Israel Genocide appeared first on The Intercept