The Center's fear of controversy strikes again.

Here's Gay City News on the cancelled/moved GLYDSA meeting (link below.) Did the Center push to cancel another event because it was going to be controversial?! Interestingly, Michael Lucas is now calling the Center reps liars, and saying they deliberately went after a vulnerable group. Maybe the Center would be better off making decisions based on principals of community and openness, rather than trying to please a nutty loose cannon of a right-wing funder?Michael Lucas Says LGBT Center Pressed Jewish Group to Move...

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Phyllis Chesler basically says queers against Israeli occupation are mentally ill

Can't post this one without some comment. Now that Jews are so visibly organized against Zionism and Apartheid, and queers are organized to demand the rights of Palestinians and decry Islamophobia, the right is finding it tough to claim that Israel is all that's keeping Jews and Middle Eastern queers (and women, etc.) safe from the ravages of the Arab world.To keep the right-wing case afloat, Chesler is now arguing that we're "obsessed with our own victimhood" to the point where we support our oppressors (Muslims,...

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Village Voice: Some info on Michael Lucas, and the Center's initial resistance to kicking out Siegebusters

Village Voice's background on right-wing gay activist Michael Lucas. Maybe most interesting: reporting that the Center rejected his attempts to intimidate them. What made them cave?Michael Lucas: The Zionist Porn Impresario Waves His Political Muscle in the Left's Face... By the end of the week, Lucas became known for flexing his political muscle: He intimidated New York's LGBT Center into canceling its hosting of another group's Israeli Apartheid Week event scheduled for next month. And it took him only a few...

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Village Voice: Testone fails to make amends in mtg with Siegebusters

Village Voice's Steven Thrasher covers Siegebusters' meeting with Testone. Outcome: no movement from the Center. 'Party to End Israeli Apartheid!' Still On at Gay Center, Activists Vow, But With Picketing, Not DancingThe Center's officials, smarting from criticism, have announced a March 13 "Community Forum," saying, "Recent events have led us to build on our process for providing space."...The Siege Busters folks are not impressed so far. After a week of silent treatment from the Center following their ejection,...

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Jewish Voices for Peace decries Center's censorship of discussion of Israeli policy

Jewish Voices for Peace blogs about pinkwashing, and the Center's collaboration with the effort by Lucas and others to depict Israel as gay-friendly, and its opponents as anti-gay. Snippet follows the link.MuzzleWatch: NY’s famed LGBT Center folds under pressure - bans “Party to End Apartheid!,” Israeli Apartheid Week event and groups Taking Pinkwashing to a whole new level, one of Israel’s very very good friends– gay male pornographer Michael Lucas– is boasting that he single-handedly got NY’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual...

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Village Voice on GLYDSA/Lucas event cancellation

Village Voice's Steven Thrasher sheds some light on the difference between Lucas' and GLYDSA's versions of why Lucas' speaking event was moved from the Center. Snippet follow the link.Gay Center's Feud Over Middle Eastern Politics Flares Up Again Lucas was to speak about his role in lobbying for the cancellation. But at the last minute, the Orthodox Jewish gays decided to call off their own meeting at the center and hold it at another location....Members of Siege Busters, and others who supported the anti-Zionist activists'...

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Lucas surfaces again at the Center, then cancels himself.

On March 17th, the Gay and Lesbian Yeshiva Day School Alumni Association (GLYDSA) posted this announcement of an event -- at the Center -- featuring Michael Lucas. A few days later, Lucas seems to have pulled the event from the Center himself. (Read more after the jump.) Queers for an Open LGBT Center, along with some members of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, intended to leaflet the event to decry the hypocrisy of the Center -- giving the controversial Lucas a platform, even as they bars others from speaking...

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Center's response to follow-up letter

Hi Bill and everyone,Thank you for checking in with us. We are continuing to carefully review the community feedback from the forum and the input coming in through the online suggestion box. This issue is a priority for us and we will keep you apprised. One of the things we heard loud and clear at the forum was that people wanted more avenues to communicate input and concerns to the Center, so in addition to the initial community forum and the online suggestion box, we have decided to offer other community forums...

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Queer organizers pull together to challenge Center's ban

In the wake of the Center's inconclusive public forum, a growing group of queer activists planned an organizing meeting. Just in advance of the meeting, some of us sent this follow-up letter to the Center's director Glennda Testone, board chair Mario Palumbo, and the only other board member present at the pubic forum, Tom Kirdahy.March 21, 2011Dear Glennda, Mario and Tom,We're writing to stay in touch about the issues raised in the community forum and to get an update. There were several issues on the table when...

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Gay City News on Center's public forum

http://www.gaycitynews.com/articles/2011/03/16/gay_city_news/news/doc4d81101464aaa069059499.txt LGBT Center’s Ban on Israeli Critics Debated at Forum March 13 town hall draws crowd of 100, deeply divided, with some faulting content standard for access BY DUNCAN OSBORNE Glennda Testone, executive director of New York City's LGBT Community Center. Published: Wednesday, March 16, 2011 4:18 PM CDT While the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center can legally ban a group that opposes Israeli...

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Village Voice on the Center's public forum

Here is Steven Thrasher's reporting on the forum. Boring comment war not re-posted here, but you can read it on Thrasher's blog. http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/03/more_sniping_in.php More Sniping in the Gay Center's Battle of Zion By Steven Thrasher, Tue., Mar. 15 2011 @ 5:38PM Comments (22) Categories: Featured, Gayz, Israel, Protest, Steven Thrasher Share24 0digg The LGBT Center ​Michael Lucas, the pro-Zionist pornographer who led thesuccessful effort to get the LGBT...

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How the Center's forum unfolded: liveblogging from Tom Leger

The Center's public forum on March 13th was liveblogged somewhat awesomely by Tom Leger. His intro to the issue is here: http://www.originalplumbing.com/2011/03/13/siegebusters-forum-lgbt-center/ Transcript of the liveblogging, plus some comments, is here and below: LIVEBLOG - CENTER COMMUNITY FORUM @ LGBT CENTER See my explanation post here. I’ll try to answer questions during the event–just post a comment. Please make any additions, corrections, etc in the comments section below. I know there were some...

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