The organizers of a Chicago gay pride march that kicked out Jewish acitivists for flying a Star of David flag has posted an anti-Semitic message on social media in response to widespread criticism.
Last month, three members of the Jewish LGBT group A Wider Bridge were prevented from participating in Chicago LGBT Dyke March due to the claim that their rainbow flags, emblazoned with the Star of David, “made people feel unsafe.” The decision was met with controversy by Jewish groups and others, who cite the anti-Semitic nature of the ban.
Subsequently, the journalist at a local LGBT newspaper who first broke the story was removed from her position. Gretchen Rachel Hammond of Chicago’s Windy City Times was reassigned to the paper’s sales department. While she declined to explain what happened, telling the JTA that “to keep what job I have, I can’t comment on it,” Haaretz reported that she had been sidelined after pressure on her publisher from the Dyke March.
The Chicago Dyke March organizers have repeatedly claimed that they are merely anti-Zionist and not anti-Semitic, a claim undercut by their latest public statement.
Responding to the controversy over Hammond, the group posted the following message on Twitter" “Zio tears replenish my electrolytes!”
As noted by the Jewish Daily Forward, the use of Zio as a pejorative stand-in for Jew was first pioneered by notorious American white supremacist and anti-Semite David Duke. The tweet has since been deleted.
