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 Meeting

Asked by Gay City News if the Center asked GLYDSA to cancel its meeting, the group wrote, “[W]e were not asked to cancel or move our meeting... Yes, we were pressured to cancel Mr. Lucas. This was in addition to potential unwanted intrusions by outsiders, including the press. We made the decision to move away from any potential disruption for the benefit of our members who trust us to guard their privacy and confidentiality. As long-standing constituents and supporters of the Center, we thought it might also diffuse some of the tension there as well.”

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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, presumably.) What will Chesler make of the Palestinian queer movement, and its insistence on the inextricability of occupation with homophobia, whenever she finally notices it?

Here is Chesler's article sparked by the LGBT Center flap: http://www.nationalpost.com/todays-paper/Palestinization+lesbian+activism/4480785/story.html

And here's a nutty snippet:

I have seen gay and lesbian contingents marching together with leftists and Arabs outside presentations I have given; they have heckled, hooted and tried to silence me in the lecture hall. The loudest chants of "From the River to the Sea -Palestine will be free" are coming, not only from the Muslim student associations or from the Palestinians with loudspeakers; they are coming from the mouths of American Jewish lesbian feminists whose very lives, certainly their political identities, are strangely bound up with Arab territorial claims.

The Jewish lesbians among them are not "self-hating Jews." They are political opportunists obsessed with their own victimhood posturing -even if it means they must sacrifice the cause of both women and homosexuals in the process.

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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 hours of emails and phone calls, plus a little more than $1,000, to do so.

...

"At first," he tells the Voice, "they tried to tell me, 'Don't intimidate us.' " He says he was told the Center had an "open-door policy." (Center officials have repeatedly refused to answer the Voice's specific questions on the matter.)
...

Within hours, the Center's open-door policy shut down. Lucas says: "[Executive Director] Glennda Testone responded directly to me, writing, 'We are canceling the event. Next time, maybe we can talk more about it before you do all of that.'"

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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 Dancing

The 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, they say, Testone finally agreed to meet with them, but with tight restrictions on what could even be discussed.
...
When they arrived at the Center, Taylor and two others were escorted to meet with Testone and two members of her staff. As Taylor recalls it, "We basically said, 'We're here to help you handle the fact that you've made a terrible mistake. A terrible PR mistake, and a terrible political mistake. We'd like to discuss the way that we can, in a facesaving manner, reinstate this event and allow Siege Busters to meet at the Center again. We don't want to rub your nose in it, we don't want to attack the Center or you personally. The only thing we want is for the Center to rescind the decision.' "

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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 and Trans Community Center to not only cancel a “Party to End Apartheid” fundraiser to cover costs for Israel Awareness Week, but to ban the group from ever renting there again. How? You know, the usual calls from supporters and threats to withhold major donations (according to Lucas).

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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' right to meet at the Center, howled, questioning the double standard of allowing a pro-Israel group to host a controversial speaker, while forbidding a pro-Palestine group from doing it own thing at the Center.

But on the eve of yesterday's event, the Orthodox Jewish gay group moved it to another locale.
...
Fanning the flames of the feud, Lucas added, "The problem is that the Center got so much involved with anti-Semitic groups that now Jews don't feel safe meeting there any longer."

There's no evidence of that, and the Center's officials — and GYLDSA — deny that there have been any threats or pressure. "We are a small private group with no interest in publicity," a group spokesman tells us. "We received no threats, nor did the Center ask us to 'un-invite' Michael Lucas."

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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 either at his behest or because they're "too controversial."

March 24, Thursday 8:00 PM: Monthly GLYDSA meeting with special guest Michael Lucas. We will be discussing the recent events of the past few weeks that have pitted anti-Israel organizers against the Center, as well as other topics of interest to our community, followed by socializing. Michael Lucas is a well-known columnist, activist, film maker and strong supporter of gay rights and Israel. ...As a follow up to the open community meeting that was poorly attended by the pro-Israel side, The Center is receiving a lot of pressure to re-allow Siegebusters and other anti-Israel groups to rejoin the center. The Center wants to do the right thing but needs our support. Please take a moment to go to the below link and send in your thoughts -- this comment box was created just for thoughts about space rental. http://mycenter.gaycenter.org/Page.aspx?pid=324

Just a few days later, though, GLYDSA announced that they would not host Lucas at the Center. They had moved their meeting. A Village Voice report quoted GLYDSA as saying that they'd received "threats." According to a reporter looking into the issue (story not yet written): "Lucas claim[ed] this is related to Center being unable to ensure the event would not be interrupted as there had been 'threats.' Center says they had nothing to do with move."

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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 as well. We also plan to share the details of our process for analyzing and revising our room rental policies in a public memo as soon as possible.

Thanks again,
Glennda

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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, 2011

Dear 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 we ended the forum--particularly the questions of
whether the Center would invite Siegebusters to resume meeting there,
and whether the Center Board of Directors would open its own meetings
to the community.

We are members of an ad hoc group meeting tonight to talk about all
this and we would appreciate knowing whether the Center has made any
decisions about any of the above.

Thank you,

Bill Dobbs
Ann Northrop
Naomi Brussel
Brad Taylor
Leslie Cagan
Pauline Park
Emmaia Gelman
Lisa Duggan
Steve Ault
Jasbir Puar
Andy Humm

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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 government policies toward Palestinians, it was clear at a town hall meeting held at the Center was that some in the community expect more from the 28-year-old institution than merely complying with the law.



“I think the Center cannot, in any way, make decisions based on the content or controversial nature of the event,” said Urvaishi Vaid, the longtime queer community leader, at the March 13 event. “I want the Center to be a place where people like Michael [Lucas] can come and organize and people like Siegebusters can come and organize.”



The Siegebusters Working Group, which had been meeting regularly at the Center since August of 2010, planned a March 5 party at the West 13th Street building to mark Israeli Apartheid Week. Some of the funds raised at that event would have gone to pay for boats to confront the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Complaints about the party prompted the Center to quickly cancel it and bar Siegebusters from meeting there again.



Glennda Testone, the Center’s executive director, told Gay City News following the town hall that the board’s executive committee, which is comprised of five members of the 19-member board, decided in less than 24 hours to halt the party. While making that decision, they consulted with an attorney on legal issues related to the ban and heard from 50 to 60 people who either opposed or supported Siegebusters. “Hundreds” have expressed their views to the Center since then, Testone said.



“The decision was absolutely made in good faith and it was not made in response to any one individual,” Testone said during the town hall. The Center banned that the Siegebusters’ party because it was “an incredibly controversial and contentious event” and “it was not LGBT-focused,” Testone said.



The loudest voice opposing Siegebusters was Lucas, the owner of Lucas Entertainment, a gay porn studio. He threatened to organize a boycott by Center donors if the party took place. Lucas was not alone.



Stuart Appelbaum, the openly gay president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, and Steven Goldstein, who chairs Garden State Equality, New Jersey’s gay lobbying group, also opposed the Siegebusters’ event. Both were speaking as individuals and not for their organizations.



In May of 2010, the Mavi Marmara, a ship owned by a Turkish charity, tried to run the blockade and was intercepted by Israeli Defense Force commandos. Nine passengers on the ship were killed and dozens were injured during the fight on board. Seven commandos were also injured.



Speaking at the town hall, Appelbaum appeared to be referring to that when he said, “My second request would be that the Center not be used in a way to incite violence.”



Earlier Appelbaum said, “The Center should not be used for racist, Islamophobic, or anti-Semitic events.”



By March 13, over 1,600 people had signed an online petition condemning the ban and calling on the Center to “return to its mission as a space for the oppressed and marginalized and reverse its decision on the March 5 event and reinstate the right of Siegebusters activists to meet there.”



While there was some debate over the Siegebusters’ message among the roughly 100 people who attended the town hall, most of the discussion focused on the Center, its decision, and the actions it should take to address the controversy.



William Dobbs, a longtime gay activist and an unflinching champion of the First Amendment, called on the Center to make its board meetings public, while others asked for largely unspecified changes to the policy on renting space.



“When are you actually going to do something to have a process that is open?” Dobbs said.



Mario J. Palumbo, Jr., the Center’s board president and one of two board members who spoke at the town hall, said “I can promise you that this is something we’ll talk about.” The second board member, Tom Kirdahy, said, “The fact of the matter is this exposed a failing in the Center’s policy.”



The Center’s space rental policy, which effectively holds that it may refuse to rent to any group for any reason, has rarely been controversial. Only barring the North American Man Boy Love Association, the New Alliance Party, and parties for men organized according to their HIV status have caused any community debate in 28 years.



Following the town hall, it appeared the Center had already determined its next step.



“I think that what people want are clear guidelines,” Testone said. The Center might add an appeals process for groups that are denied space, but it will not be rewriting its policy.



“It’s not a question of do we throw this out and start over,” Testone said.

Copyright © 2011 - Chelsea Now

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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

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The LGBT Center

​Michael Lucas, the pro-Zionist pornographer who led thesuccessful effort to get the LGBT Center to cancel an anti-Zionist "Israeli Apartheid Week" event, once again dominated discussion at what was billed a "community forum" last weekend on who gets to use the Center.

The spirited, standing-room-only crowd, on the other hand, appeared to consist mostly of Lucas's foes: supporters of Siege Busters, an activist group that was trying to put on the anti-Zionist event.

At the heart of the debate was the right to free speech for anyone renting space in the Center versus the right of donors to have their say about who gets to use the space. That argument is far from settled.

A large number of those present seemed to feel uncomfortable allowing the Center to decide what is or is not "too controversial" or "gay enough." Some said they'd feel uncomfortable coming to a Center where a group using the words "Israeli Apartheid" was allowed to meet. But more said they had met at the Center for years around "non-gay" issues like war, the death penalty, and South African apartheid.

Some of the loudest applause of the night came when a speaker said they wanted a Center where both Michael Lucas could rent space to host an event to discuss his side of things, and Siege Busters could host an event to discuss their side.

Glennda Testone, the Center's executive director, tried to mollify the crowd, explaining that Siege Busters, the sponsor of the planned "Party to End Apartheid," was ejected because they were deemed too distracting from the Center's "core mission" and that they were not "LGBT-focused." She claimed that, for example, a queer Palestinian group — controversial politics and all — would be welcome at the Center, but even members of her board of directors who were at the meeting contradicted her on that.

Some speakers claimed that some groups, in light of the Siege Busters flap, no longer want to meet at the Center, which they said has long been under the control of white, wealthy people.

The restless audience also wanted know what Siege Busters had done to get kicked out after having had other meetings there over several months, and which other events had ever been canceled by Center officials. Testone said a handful of events had not been allowed at the Center over the years, including a NAMBLA event in 1989. But other speakers, including representatives of the Audre Lord Project, said that transgender causes have not always been welcome at the Center.

Reporter Andy Humm tried strongly to pin Testone down for a plan determining access to the Center, saying anything less would be a "tragedy." But Testone wouldn't be pinned down. She claimed that it would be presumptive of her to lay out a plan before she received "input" from the forum.

The weekend event had been billed as an open community forum, but Center officials made it very clear up front that it wouldn't be open enough to allow people to vent about Palestine and politics. As transgender activist Pauline Park pointed out, the Center's decision to cancel Siege Busters' event was already a way of choosing sides.

A member of Siege Busters made a motion to read an opening statement, and though the audience voted to hear it, the Siege Busters rep was not allowed to speak until 80 minutes into the meeting. And, despite moderator Ann Northrup's assurance that everyone in the room would be allowed to talk once before anyone spoke a second time, Michael Lucas spoke five or six times, more than anyone else in the room but Testone.

When Lucas spoke, he often riled everybody, most notably when he said that all Jews identify with Israel (which made Jewish members of Siege Busters boo) and when he provocatively asked, "What would you do without our money?" (which made even one of the staunchest Zionists in the crowd yell, "Michael, you're not helping us!")

Testone, downplaying the role of donors in the Center's decision to cancel the event, tried to convince the crowd that she'd never spoken to Lucas until late last week. She kept reiterating that the cancellation wasn't just due to controversy, but due to Siege Busters' lack of LGBT focus.

But Tom Kirdahy, the board's at-large member of the executive committee, said that he voted to cancel the event because he believed letting the group meet there would prove "unsafe" for vulnerable LGBT users of the center, such as those in recovery programs. Board President Mario Palumbo (who stressed that he's half-Lebanese and that the board is not overwhelmed with Israel supporters) said that he voted to eject the group because they were not LGBT-focused and because they had used the word "apartheid" in their activity. This undercut Testone's claims that a queer Palestinian group would be allowed to be controversial.

[sthrasher@villagevoice.com]

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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 important points I missed–all unintentional, I promise.

UPDATE: Apologies about misspelled names, etc–when I didn’t know the spelling, I had to guess, and in some cases I was able to use Google to correct myself. Elisa Solomon should have been Alisa Solomon, for instance. Special thanks to Alisa and Sarah Schulman for pointing out people and providing names where I didn’t know them, which was most of the time.

Also, at 17:15, the gentleman who I mentioned, who was talking about propaganda, was Michael Lucas, but at the time I didn’t know that. I correctly ID him in the rest of the blog.

UPDATE: Below is the text, posted by Lisa Duggan on Facebook. I refer to this several times as the text on “pink paper” that was finally read about 80 minutes into the discussion.

Letter to participants at the LGBT Community Center public forum – March 13, 2011

Greetings to All,

We don’t know how this meeting will go. We are (separately) members of Siegebusters, members of groups who wrote to the Center to object to the treatment of Siegebusters and queer political activists in general, organizers of the last week’s protest against the Center’s censorship, Palestinian and Jewish queers, and active participants in queer community. The Center hasn’t included any of us as “stakeholders” in planning this meeting. However, we’d like to offset some of the chaos by offering a few starting ideas.

Some bottom-line issues:

1. The Center dealt badly with Siegebusters. An apology is due, and the Center should immediately restore Siegebusters’ access to meeting space until it can provide a transparent process for deciding otherwise. The reasons given by Center staff for cancelling the March 5 event and Siegebusters ongoing meetings in scattered e-mails and announcements (that Siegebusters is somehow not queer enough, or that queer activism on Palestine makes queer space “unsafe”) have been broadly refuted in public comment from many corners of the queer community.

2. This controversy reveals a much bigger problem at the Center – lack of transparent decision-making. Center Executive Director Glennda Testone and the Center’s Board of Directors have made major decisions about our space and community with no real community engagement.

No one from Siegebusters was consulted before the cancellation.

No organizers of the ensuing protest against the Center were contacted before the Center decided to hire private goons to police our community center against us.

No public response has been made to the queers – particularly queers of color and Palestinian queers – who told the Center that this decision has marginalized them and made them unsafe.

The forum today has been organized without input from affected groups.

The Center must have a transparent process for making (and that allows for challenges of) decisions about who can use the Center. The Center also must open its board meetings to the public and take public comment. The board should be accountable, and it isn’t. Its operations aren’t public, its members don’t represent our communities, and it doesn’t provide the Center’s constituency with any lines of communication – although it’s clearly making decisions about us.

What this meeting shouldn’t be about:

The Center shouldn’t be blessing or disapproving queer political work, nor should this meeting.

The Center shouldn’t be making political calls about the Middle East, nor should this meeting.

It’s not a “neutral position” to shut down queer organizing or anti-occupation work because it’s “too controversial.” But having gotten itself into this mess, the Center now has the responsibility to transparently and neutrally bring folks back to the table. This meeting doesn’t satisfy that responsibility.

Here’s hoping for a productive discussion,

Bill Dobbs, Brad Taylor, Emmaia Gelman, Naomi Brussel, Sammer Aboelela, Sarena Melchert

19.30

AN thanks everyone for coming. “To be continued.”

19.29

One final contribution, a woman in the back. “It is an act of cowardice, refusing to deal with this controversy.” Wants to know if SB will be able to meet here.

19.28

Someone is speaking, “Diverse groups do meet here already!” Ok, thanks.

19.28

Someone named Jayla is speaking. Talking about the Center not always being inclusive of trans people. “Our community is always growing and changing.” This person is Glenda’s partner. WEIRD.

19.24

He has been a volunteer at the Center for 12 years, and was a past president of the board. He is “Gladder than ever” that GT is the CEO of the LGBT Center.

19.23

Bruce Anderson is speaking. “It thrills me that you all hold the center to such high expectations.”

19.22

A man is talking about the controversy of the ACT-UP Stop the Church action, which was offensive to some gay catholics. If the Center had come down on ACT-UP over this, it would have been terrible and destructive.

19.19

Wait, he just said that if the Center hosted a group that supported Palestinian Right of Return, he would not feel comfortable being here.

Who wants to start this group?

19.18

Another man is talking but he is too stupid to record. Please wait.

19.17

A gentleman who says he is a gay man who has been coming here for 2 decades. He wants the center to make decisions based ons sexuality and gender. He says he came to a gay adoption group, not other adoption groups. Because he is gay. Wow, genius time.

19.15

He asks why the group has been barred.

19.14

A gentleman who says he is not with Siegebusters responds to Lucas. “Absolutely it is your right to no fund the Center based on the activities here.” He would hope that the Center is not excluding groups based on their politics, particularly during the recession.

“You are tearing this community center apart” he says to the people who are trying to direct the Center’s activities in this way.

19.11

Sarah is articulating that the Center has taken a position on this issue, that groups of people of color are leaving the Center. Says that GT is presiding over the destruction of the Center. Lots of clapping.

MP says that apartheid is an offensive word, specifically.

19.10

Stuart Appelbaum is yelling at Sarah now! WTF.

19.09

Sarah Schulman volunteered to Tom to be on the working group regarding space use.

19.08

AN: Clearly the issue of SB meeting here is not settled. This is an issue that needs to be addressed–they have a pending request to meet here.

19.07

Tom from the board just said, “This exposed a failing in the center’s policies.”

19.05

Uproarious clapping.

19.05

LK asks GT to be clearer about timing–when are these guidelines going to be public. Also, in an act of good faith, should reinstate the SB group until the guidelines are public.

19.04

Leslie Kagen is speaking–”You can not bar groups from being here for being controversial.”

She says she understands anyone has the right to give money based on demands, but the Center can not make a decision based on that money.

19.03

AN presses GT to answer if she regrets the decision, and GT says no, definitively.

19.02

GT says she sees tonight as the “first step in a process” and going forward will come up with guidelines and be transparent.

19.01

Andy Humm wants GT to outline the steps in the future for the decision making process. Also, wants her to admit that they could have been wrong about SB. [blogger's note: Mr. Humm's name was previously spelled Hamm]

19.00

GT says they do hire private security for protests. She is asked when was the last time, and she doesn’t know.

18.58

A question from the audience about how it was decided to hire private security.

18.56

We have voted to continue talking for another 10 minutes. AN is good at this.

18.55

A gentleman is speaking, saying that the use of Apartheid is a manipulation of the community, e.g. pro-life, etc.

18.54

Jasbir Puar is speaking, as a board member of ALP. No one contacted ALP about the decision. They wrote a letter and then they were contacted. SRLP, FIERCE, QEJ, SALGA, etc hosted a tour of Palestinian queers, who articulated that it IS definitely a queer issue.

Finally, this decision has influenced many people to stop meeting here because this decision has made it unsafe to meet here.

18.51

MP says that if the group was queer, and if they didn’t use the word “apartheid” he would have voted to support the group. Loads and loads of bullshit flowing here.

18.51

BD wants to know if the Board will open its meetings. MP says he will ask the board, that he can’t speak for them. He is the President of the board.

18.50

Bill Dobbs says he doesn’t believe the excuses that the Board give about controversy, citing the David Wojnarovich protests, and that the Smithsonian’s excuses, which were the same.

18.48

Michael Lucas is speaking again. (How, why?)

He wants to say, What is wrong with giving money to the Center and then demanding that the Center behaves in accordance with our views? He keeps saying “This is our free speech.”

18.44

Lisa Duggan stands. “One of the big fissures in LGBTQ politics is over this question of what is LGBTQ.”

18.43

Asked again: If the group was called something else, would it be allowed to meet?

GT: There is a group of Queer Arabs. (What does that mean?)

18.40

Pauline Park is speaking about the effort to add transgender to the name of the center. The idea that the Center was all inclusive at all times is false.

18.39

UV: I would love a center that is a place where people like Michael Lucas can come and organize, and Siegebusters can come and organize.

18.37

Urvashi Vaid is speaking again. If this were the kind of forum that was happening the night of the event, it would be powerful. “I want to contest the frame of a ‘non-gay issue’”

18.35

Chris Farell speaks: The fact that the group was meeting here for months indicates that they did meet the standards, or that they was no actual policy in place.

18.34

A gentleman stands up and says that thousands of queer Palestinians are excluded from this conversation. Center is not a safe place for Palestinian queer people because their oppression is replicated here at the Center.

18.33

Alan Hertzberg “I don’t understand how the Center has come down on the side of anti-human rights and pro-censorship.”

He says he is a pro-Palestinian Jew.

18.31

Chelsea from ALP is speaking. “I wanted to dispel the myth that this is the first time that safety has been called into question at the Center…I want to draw attention to the long history of white supremacy in the Center.” Trans people of color for a TDOR meeting were kicked out, police called.

Sylvia Rivera was banned from the Center. Because she demanded that the Center takes care of poor and homeless youth.

Private security and police presence for the protest last Saturday makes the space unsafe. Michael Lucas interrupts her, but I didn’t hear him.

18.28

She says, further, “I am not split in my political identity. I don’t know who I can be in this space anymore.”

18.27

Woman standing up saying that seeing Israeli Apartheid Week on the list at the Center would make her feel pain, and this isn’t a place for pain. Another woman has just stood up and said that as a lesbian, a jew and a person who is working against the occupation, this event has made her feel pain.

Great, we all feel like shit. Welcome to being queer.

18.25

The gay

rabbi
gentleman who earlier talked about the gestapo yelled something at Sarah Schulman that sounded vaguely sexist, involving telling her to smile. He then got up and walked out. Extremely strange. Unfortunate. [edit: not a rabbi, don't know why I wrote that]

18.23

EG says it is not a neutral position to shut down an event for being controversial. Lots of clapping.

18.22

EG says she looked up the people on the board of the Center. She has been involved here for 20 years and have no idea who these people are.

GT is taking notes and making frowny faces. She isn’t real bright, let’s be honest here.

18.20

Emmaia Gelman is reading the pink letter now, explaining that it was written by the at large queer community. Palestinian and Jewish queers included.

18.19

Lisa Duggan is arguing that we should hear the proposal that she points out, we already vote to hear but haven’t yet. This is the letter that was on pink paper.

18.18

Stuart Appelbaum is going on and on, reading quotes from an article in the Washington Post, and a letter from the Jewish Open House.

18.11

Brad Taylor says that he wants to clarify that there was no dialogue. AN says we know that.

18.09

She continues, asking why events that are more “profitable” are allowed/funded better. Michael Lucas stands up and yells, “Where would you be without that money?” and the room erupts in yelling. One man yells at ML to sit down about 30 times, but in a kind of polite way.

18.08

A woman named Jessica asks again, “If the group had been called Queers against the Occupation, would it have been allowed?”

18.07

Mario J. Palumbo, Jr. is speaking now, as the president of the board. He has identified himself as half-Lebanese. Speaks a lot, says nothing.

18.04

A member of the SB group stands and states that SB was not consulted at all until after the decision had been made. Why was it made now, after SB had been meeting here since September [2010].

GT: because of the controversy. She says now that the person on the room reservation is the person who was contacted. Still, not named, but gendered male. GT says the person was “disappointed but said it was OK.”

18.00

Andy Humm asked that last question about AA.

17.59

A man asks why AA meets here, since it is not gay specific. GT says that it is because this was so controversial and also this was not LGBT focused.

17.58

GT says they spoke to a SB representatives. People are yelling, “Name”–GT refuses to name the person they spoke to. One wonders if GT’s statement is pure fantasy. She is ignoring the name question, and sits down.

17.57

A gentleman stands up and adds that this needs to be a discussion about whether or not the board of the center should be able to decide who can rent space here, as in if Exodus wanted to use this space, would this be allowed? He also brought up bareback porn.

17.56

A gentleman who identifies himself as the founder of the “gay synagogue”, a member of the Matachine Society, only opposes the meeting because of the use “apartheid” which he says is false. He states that Israel is the most open society in the middle east. Chuckles all around. He blathers on about his family being arrested by the Gestapo. (Why bring this up?) [update: Alex Weissman, Social Justice Coordinator of CBST contact OP to note that this person is not affiliated with CBST, did not found it, and that in fact, CBST isn't "gay" but LGBTQ]

17.53

Scott Kaplan says the Center has a history of unfair use of space, such as when they allowed Bloomberg to use the Center over other candidates.

17.52

A man says that this organization is LGBT only and other groups, non-LGBT, can’t expect space here. He says just having a gay member isn’t enough.

17.51

GT is asked if this decision was made because of donors threatening to withdraw. She says there was that threat, but this was a minor part of the feedback and not the cause for the decision.

17.50

Tom is asked, “If there was a queer group sponsoring this party, would it have been allowed. GT has interrupted and sidetracked the question. She insists that this meeting is about figuring that out in the future. “How do we have this safe for everyone in the future?”

17.49

SS: There were straight members of ACT-UP, excluding this group for not being queer is an excuse to exclude because we don’t agree with them.

17.48

Sarah Schulman stands and says, ‘There is no anti-semitism in this debate.”

17.48

Michael Lucas starts speaking ON BEHALF of all Jews and Israelis. Yelling, hollering at him. He corrects himself, “A lot of Jews feel connected to Israel.” and ergo, they are made unsafe by IA week. He repeats, “Yes, Jews do feel connected to Israel.”

17.46

She is asked by a member of the audience (accused?) of being a member of Siegebusters, which she denied.

17.45

Elisa Solomon is asking “What do you mean by protection?” She “seeks safe space and open conversation.” She experienced this as something that was agressive and threatening to her, not safe.

17.44

Tom: “It was about protecting the lives of the people who need this place.”

17.44

Tom says he has been sickened by the racism on one side of this issue, and the anti-semitism on the other. WTFx1000.

17.43

He says that they all asked themselves if they felt like they were being influenced by an outside force, and said no. Then they considered if the group was queer identified, and since that was No, then they decided to cancel it.

17.41

He says that when he was recovering from drug addiction, the Center was his safe space.

17.40

Someone named Tom from the board is speaking “from a deeply personal place.”

“The executive committee engaged in a good faith conversation about the best course of action.”

17.39

GT keeps saying that the group representative was contacted directly, which opposes what has been reported in the news media, and what Sherry Wolf says.

17.38

GT: Other groups that have not been allowed to meet here: NAMBLA, in 1989. New Alliance Party was also denied space. There have been other groups at other times, which went unnoticed.

AN requests more detail about this decision, but GT is just repeating herself from earlier, from press releases, etc.

17.36

GT says that right now everyone who requests space submits a proposal, each are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. They are asked to abide by the code of conduct, which includes “don’t be violent, dont be naked, don’t steal–things of that nature”

The Center’s mission is being read aloud.

17.35

GT is talking again.

17.34

We are voting on whether or not to let the SB-sympathizers speak at the top. Motion has passed. AN had to count the votes individually.

17.32

Stuart Appelbaum is from the Jewish Labor Committee, according to Google.

17.31

Jasbir Puar is raising her hand, but is kind of sitting behind AN and is having trouble being seen.

17.30

Stuart Applebaum is angry and yelling that this is about space use, not Siegebusters.

17.29

We are still discussing whether or not to vote on taking a vote. How did ACT-UP get anything done?

17.28

I can not contain my resentment for the individuals who have decided to attend this meeting even though they have NEVER been to the Center, never used services here. Tragic.

17.27

Michael Lucas looks bored.

17.25

Michael Lucas is opposing the use of the meeting for talking about Siegebusters. GT responds by saying the meeting is open. Urvashi Vaid says she is not in SB, she is a member of the community and she wants to hear the proposal.

If this is confusing to you, don’t worry, it is confusing to me, too.

17.23

A woman named Esther disagrees, and says she understood this to be a broader meeting. Ann says the room will decide.

17.21

This is scheduled only until 6:30pm, which I think might be wishful thinking.

17.21

Steve Walsh says there is a sound problem, he can’t here. Ann Northrup makes sure microphones are in place for speakers.

Stuart Applebaum asks if we will disregard the 90 second limit in order to read the Siegebusters letter. Ann says that as facilitator, her job is to help the room do what the room wants to do.

Brad Taylor offers a clarification–the proposal is talking points NOT from Siegebusters, but from a collaboration of many community members.

A man named Ken stands and says that he thinks this is about how the Center rents rooms.

17.17

A man named Jeff asks for the misson of the Center, and another man has asked for the space guidelines.

Pauline Park has arrived.

A woman wants to know if it is OK if you are not GLBT to speak. She self-identifies herself as not LGBT.

17.16

A woman named Ann has asked that AN make an effort to keep looking for opposing points of view during the discussion. AN agrees.

17.15

A man has stood to ask that this “not be another propaganda meeting” — complaining about the 2 leaflets he has gotten, and noting that the meeting that was cancelled is a “propaganda meeting.”

17.14

A man has asked for the Board members to clarify their decision process regarding this issue.

Elaine Meisner asks historically what other groups have been disallowed from meeting here.

A man stands and asks who is running the meeting. Ann says the Center is running it, no outside group.

17.12

Brad Taylor from Siegebusters has asked to read their statement. Ann tables it. Bill Dobbs has asked all the center Board members to stand and identify themselves. Out of 19, 2 are here. Good shot, Bill.

17.11

We are at about 100% capacity. Guildelines are winding down and the discussion is about to begin.

17.10

A press person has asked for that to be amended , Ann is putting it to a vote and it stands. Why is it ok, I wonder, to not be quoted by name? This is a public forum! If you don’t want to be quoted, try not talking.

17.09

She has asked press to identify themselves, and ask asked press not to quote people by name without checking with them at the end of the meeting. I will assume this doesn’t apply to me.

17.08

Some claps for GT. Ann Northrup is back onstage. She is “borrowing some guidelines from ACT-UP meetings” – Anyone and everyone is welcome to speak, but not repeatedly because she wants everyone to have a chance to speak. 90 seconds or less. She is not keeping a stack in order to encourage a more spontaneous discussion. “No personal attacks.”

17.06

She says that it i a misunderstanding to read this decision as meaning that the Center is not welcoming to Queer Palestinians or LGBT Arabs.

17.05

“Many people consider the Center their home. That is an honor. The staff takes that responsibility very seriously.”

17.04

She is explaining the Center’s side of the story in a manner that makes it seem like she has rehearsed it. She says 6000 people per week come through the Center. Some of those are “literally in a life or death situation.”

17.03

GT says that the forum is to clarify the “space use guidelines” of the center.

17.02

Ann Northrup has called the meeting to order exactly on time. She has turned it over to Glenda Testone, who is welcoming us to “engage in a dialogue.”

17.02

Rumors that an unnamed corporate donor is pressuring the Center to maintain the policy barring Siegebusters. Further rumors: Urvashi Vaid and Kate Clinton, major donors to the center have threatened to “never donate another cent” to the LGBT Center until the group is reinstated.

16.58

[sorry about the weird time stamps on previous posts--it is fixed now]

16.57

80% capacity.

16.57

Glenda Testone is wearing tall black boots with 4″ heels. She is dressed like a sexy soccer mom.

15.54

Glenda Testone has arrive, and we are filling up quickly. Carrie Davis, from GIP, is also in attendance. Paul Schneider from Gay City News is here, and Bill Dobbs is passing out a “Letter to partipants at the LGBT Community Center public forum” –printed on pink paper, and signed by himself, Brad Taylor, Emmaia Gelman, Naomi Brussel, Sammer Aboelela, and Sarena Melchert.

15.49

The Center staff has organized room 301, a large loft-like room, into a wide circle of approximately 200 chairs, a la theater in the round. With 15 minutes until the start time, the room is about 1/4 full.

15.45

People are beginning to arrive. Lisa Duggan and Sarah Schulman are here. Several orthodox, gay jews have just come in. Activist and organizer Leslie Kagen is here, and Jasbir Puar is expected to come as well.

14.55

Ann Northrop has arrived, and just told us that she will be moderating. I know her from her DykeTV appearances, and she is another ACT-UP veteran.

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