ΤΟ PRIDE ΤΟΥ ΤΟΡΟΝΤΟ ΕΠΙΤΡΕΠΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΧΡΗΣΗ ΤΟΥ ΟΡΟΥ "ΙΣΡΑΗΛΙΝΟ ΑΠΑΡΤΧΑΪΝΤ"

Pride Toronto reverses ban on "Israeli Apartheid"
Pride Toronto (PT) has reversed its May board resolution banning the term "Israeli Apartheid" and will instead require all participants to sign and abide by the City of Toronto's non-discrimination policy.
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) — the target of the ban — has declared a victory and congratulated the queer community for pushing PT to reverse its censorship decision.
"This is a victory for the Palestine solidarity movement, which has faced censorship and bullying tactics from the Israel lobby for far too long," said QuAIA member Tim McCaskell in the release. PT's reversal follows outrage in Toronto's queer community, as many condemned the organization for its restrictions on free speech in the parade. Read all of Xtra's coverage of the issue here.
Michael Went was one of the founders of the Pride Coalition for Free Speech, a group that formed in the wake of the announcement. They've been working around the clock to organize subversions and competing events since.
Those events included one that attracted 400 people, and two others where angry queers marched on the PT offices.
An hour after PT sent out its late-afternoon press release, Went was sitting a roundtable at a Latin America Pride Coalition for Free Speech meeting to discuss plans for Pride Week.
He was beaming.
"I'm feeling pretty good right now," says Went.
Brad Fraser, another member of the coalition, says that the ban would not have been lifted had it not been for the popular revolt of queer people over the last month.
"It’s a tremendous victory for anyone who dared to speak out," says Fraser. "I don’t think anyone’s conscience would have turned them around on their own accord, least of all Kyle Rae."
On May 25, QuAIA members and free speech supporters protested at the PT offices. In response to the ban on "Israeli Apartheid," both the grand marshal and honoured dyke rejected their appointments. On June 7, over 20 former PT honourees returned their awards in protest.
Matthew Cutler was at that press conference, where he returned a youth award to PT. Like Went, he too hopes the community can begin healing.
"I don't know that there is an ability to apportion credit. I think we all played a role," says Cutler. "There were many weeks of people feeling as though they were voiceless, and that they weren't being listened to. With today's decision, it's pretty clear that we were being listened to."
This ends PT's second censorship battle this year. In March, PT announced it would vet signs through an "ethics committee," a move that was roundly condemned and was rescinded two weeks later.
Xtra tried to reach PT executive director Tracey Sandilands at her office, but she chose not to comment. A staff person promised that someone from PT would get in touch tomorrow (xtra.ca, June 24).