Acknowledgments  ix

Introduction: Before  1

Part I. Solidarity Visit  

1. Awareness  23

2. Preparation: Learning from Cinema  40

3. Maps  48

4. The Jewish Embrace  58

5. Solidarity Visit  67

6. Palestine  77

7. Finding the Strategy  86

Part II. Al-U.S. Tour  

8. Homonationalism  103

9. Amreeka  133

10. Backlash  156

11. Understanding  172

Conclusion: There Is No Conclusion  175

Appendix; Brand Israel and Pinkwashing: A Documentary Guide  179

Index  187

Finalist, 2013 Lambda Literary Awards, LGBT Nonfiction category

“[T]he US playwright Sarah Schulman’s Israel/Palestine and the Queer International (Duke, 2012) undermines the idea that Israel is the bastion of social freedom in the region. Her careful, analytical memoir of her 2010 visit to Palestine and Israel, and of the tour she organized for queer Palestinians around the US in 2011, bristles with the possibilities of genuine solidarity if patience allows various political agendas committed to freedom to find the common space for their differences and unities to find each other.” —Vijay Prashad, Jadaliyya

“Schulman’s ‘willful ignorance regarding Israel and Palestine’ is both acknowledged and interrogated through her own self-questioning and activism in this concise yet powerful activist-roman. . . . Is homonationalism the activist’s cry of the 21st century? Are you ready to interrogate your privilege? It is this call to acknowledge and interrogate our privilege and our ignorance that concludes Schulman’s fine work. . . .”—Marcie Bianco, Lambda Literary Review

“[Schulman] eloquently and cogently describes how her awareness and transformation happened. She presents interesting stories about the queer Palestinians she meets, and bonds with, including anti-occupation activists, as well as details about the unique coming-out process for Palestinians.”—Gary Kramer, Philadelphia Gay News

“[A] provocative argument against Israel’s recent attempt to market itself as a gay tourist destination. . . . [H]er skepticism regarding power is bracing. Schulman not only upends many of her own unquestioned assumptions, she also clarifies the connection between seemingly innocuous acts, like an effusive travel-section article extolling Tel Aviv’s gay-friendly cafes, and imperialism, racial prejudice and class struggle.”—Raymond Simon, Philadelphia Weekly

“Schulman offers an honest and unflinching look at her step-by-step process for challenging her own biases. It's courageous work, and something we don't see nearly enough of, especially when it comes to hot-button issues.”—Kel Munger, Colorado Springs Independent

“Through her writing, Schulman equips queer internationals with tools to push back, reflect, and synthesize. . . . Counterintuitive to the depressing subjects she explores, there is no pessimism in Schulman’s cataloging of what is wrong with the world. Instead, demonstrating a trait of the queer international, she is proactive in the face of adversarial forces such as familial, state, and capitalist violence.” —Ted Kerr, Pretty Queer

“Schulman’s greatest strength in this moving accuont of her politicization around Palestine is her personal exploration of how Jewish historical trauma is linked to the Israeli oppression of Palestinians. . . . This powerful narrative will be particularly helpful for folks struggling to understand the intersection of Jewish identity, queerness, and anti-occupation work.”—Wendy Elisheva Somerson, Bitch

“In this brave nonfiction work . . . Schulman takes up the occupation, and the BDS (boycott/divestment/sanctions) movement. The book follows Schulman as she dissects her own complicated relationship to the Middle East, immerses herself in an intensive re-education process, and embarks on a unique, eye-opening Solidarity Tour of Israel/Palestine.” —Bec Zajac, The Brooklyn Rail

“Solidarity, reciprocity, and recognition here reinforce each other, broadening the range of human rights that each movement affirms. The queer activist learns about colonialism and the anti-occupation activist learns about feminism. It is a remarkable testament to the value of the risk that Schulman ran in agreeing to deny her lesbian and gay constituency in Israel in favour of a broader human rights agenda in which their rights too might find validation and defence.”—Gerry Kearns, Dubin Review of Books

“Written with verve and grace, Israel/ Palestine and the Queer International is eye-opening, courageous, investigative, an activists’ how-to manual, and a shining example of the best in contemporary gay liberation thinking of the sort we have come to expect from Sarah Schulman. The book is by turns hard-headed (in the best sense), clear-sighted, and tender and moving.”—Doug Ireland, Gay City News

“Schulman’s grappling with a Jewish history that kept her willfully ignorant about the Israeli occupation is a compelling piece of her narrative.... I hope that Schulman’s visibility will inspire more queers to pick up her book and become involved in Palestine solidarity work...”—Wendy Elisheva Somerson, Make/Shift

“Life is hard for the Palestinians. It isn’t a picnic for leftists in LGBT movements either. So a book that brings good news on both fronts is a definite reason for celebration... So there are discussions remaining to be had about internationalism with queer internationalists like Schulman. Still, Israel/Palestine and the Queer International is a fun, moving and inspiring place to start.” —Peter Drucker, Against the Current

“[P]eppered with shrewd and telling political insights. Schulman’s feminism and anti-racism are constant sources of illumination.”—Peter Drucker, International Viewpoint

Finalist, 2013 Lambda Literary Awards, LGBT Nonfiction category

“[T]he US playwright Sarah Schulman’s Israel/Palestine and the Queer International (Duke, 2012) undermines the idea that Israel is the bastion of social freedom in the region. Her careful, analytical memoir of her 2010 visit to Palestine and Israel, and of the tour she organized for queer Palestinians around the US in 2011, bristles with the possibilities of genuine solidarity if patience allows various political agendas committed to freedom to find the common space for their differences and unities to find each other.” —Vijay Prashad, Jadaliyya

“Schulman’s ‘willful ignorance regarding Israel and Palestine’ is both acknowledged and interrogated through her own self-questioning and activism in this concise yet powerful activist-roman. . . . Is homonationalism the activist’s cry of the 21st century? Are you ready to interrogate your privilege? It is this call to acknowledge and interrogate our privilege and our ignorance that concludes Schulman’s fine work. . . .”—Marcie Bianco, Lambda Literary Review

“[Schulman] eloquently and cogently describes how her awareness and transformation happened. She presents interesting stories about the queer Palestinians she meets, and bonds with, including anti-occupation activists, as well as details about the unique coming-out process for Palestinians.”—Gary Kramer, Philadelphia Gay News

“[A] provocative argument against Israel’s recent attempt to market itself as a gay tourist destination. . . . [H]er skepticism regarding power is bracing. Schulman not only upends many of her own unquestioned assumptions, she also clarifies the connection between seemingly innocuous acts, like an effusive travel-section article extolling Tel Aviv’s gay-friendly cafes, and imperialism, racial prejudice and class struggle.”—Raymond Simon, Philadelphia Weekly

“Schulman offers an honest and unflinching look at her step-by-step process for challenging her own biases. It's courageous work, and something we don't see nearly enough of, especially when it comes to hot-button issues.”—Kel Munger, Colorado Springs Independent

“Through her writing, Schulman equips queer internationals with tools to push back, reflect, and synthesize. . . . Counterintuitive to the depressing subjects she explores, there is no pessimism in Schulman’s cataloging of what is wrong with the world. Instead, demonstrating a trait of the queer international, she is proactive in the face of adversarial forces such as familial, state, and capitalist violence.” —Ted Kerr, Pretty Queer

“Schulman’s greatest strength in this moving accuont of her politicization around Palestine is her personal exploration of how Jewish historical trauma is linked to the Israeli oppression of Palestinians. . . . This powerful narrative will be particularly helpful for folks struggling to understand the intersection of Jewish identity, queerness, and anti-occupation work.”—Wendy Elisheva Somerson, Bitch

“In this brave nonfiction work . . . Schulman takes up the occupation, and the BDS (boycott/divestment/sanctions) movement. The book follows Schulman as she dissects her own complicated relationship to the Middle East, immerses herself in an intensive re-education process, and embarks on a unique, eye-opening Solidarity Tour of Israel/Palestine.” —Bec Zajac, The Brooklyn Rail

“Solidarity, reciprocity, and recognition here reinforce each other, broadening the range of human rights that each movement affirms. The queer activist learns about colonialism and the anti-occupation activist learns about feminism. It is a remarkable testament to the value of the risk that Schulman ran in agreeing to deny her lesbian and gay constituency in Israel in favour of a broader human rights agenda in which their rights too might find validation and defence.”—Gerry Kearns, Dubin Review of Books

“Written with verve and grace, Israel/ Palestine and the Queer International is eye-opening, courageous, investigative, an activists’ how-to manual, and a shining example of the best in contemporary gay liberation thinking of the sort we have come to expect from Sarah Schulman. The book is by turns hard-headed (in the best sense), clear-sighted, and tender and moving.”—Doug Ireland, Gay City News

“Schulman’s grappling with a Jewish history that kept her willfully ignorant about the Israeli occupation is a compelling piece of her narrative.... I hope that Schulman’s visibility will inspire more queers to pick up her book and become involved in Palestine solidarity work...”—Wendy Elisheva Somerson, Make/Shift

“Life is hard for the Palestinians. It isn’t a picnic for leftists in LGBT movements either. So a book that brings good news on both fronts is a definite reason for celebration... So there are discussions remaining to be had about internationalism with queer internationalists like Schulman. Still, Israel/Palestine and the Queer International is a fun, moving and inspiring place to start.” —Peter Drucker, Against the Current

“[P]eppered with shrewd and telling political insights. Schulman’s feminism and anti-racism are constant sources of illumination.”—Peter Drucker, International Viewpoint

"Al-Shulman has written an honest, warm, and moving book. This is a book about how the political heart expands to encompass the rights of queers and the rights of Palestinians, the rights of you and the rights of me, the rights of individuals and the rights of collectivities. This vision is neither stingy nor utopian, but deeply realistic. A must-read."—Vijay Prashad, author of Uncle Swami: South Asians in America Today

"This is a great book, brave, and compassionate. A journey of discovery, a coming of age, and more important, a search for justice. Our world is a better place for its existence. Read it, please."—Rabih Alameddine, author of The Hakawati

"This is an extraordinary, challenging, and moving book. It is both an honest account of the work Sarah Schulman had to do to allow the full reality of the occupation of Palestine to be registered in her consciousness, and a story—told firmly yet gently, with patience and care—of the shared labor of building activist worlds on occupied grounds. We embark on a journey with Sarah Schulman and many other activists, from Palestine, the U.S. and beyond, as they persist in the effort to make the liberation of Palestine essential to queer politics. We follow their footsteps, we trace the paths; we hear the conversations; we share the meals. If activism involves hard often painstaking work, if it involves mundane and ordinary tasks, we learn that it can also create connections that nourish and sustain. I hope this book becomes a teacher. I hope we join the invitation to become part of a new queer international where liberation for all is the common goal."—Sara Ahmed, author of On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life

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