Israel's minister was jeered at a Pride march, Oxford University appointed its first professor of LGBTQ History, and Italy's governor withdrew his support for a Pride parade.
Minister Jeered During Pride March
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's far-right Police Minister, was jeered at the Jerusalem Gay Pride parade.
According to the BBC, Ben-Gvir has a history of aggressive homophobic positions.
At the beginning of the parade, Ben-Gvir toured a nearby street, prompting attendees to rush the barricades and shout “shame” at him.
Marchers said they were worried about the current government and their agenda towards the LGBTQ community, and used the march as a time to stand in support of one another.
"Many have said, 'I will be here this year because of that - I cannot allow who is in government to affect the fact that this is who I am and this is my life,'" Marcher Elisa Gilman told the BBC.
First Professor Of LGBTQ History Appointed at Oxford University
Matt Cook. Photo courtesy of Keiko Ikeuchi/University of Oxford/PA.
Cultural historian Matt Cook will be the UK’s first fully endowed professor of LGBTQ history. The new position will be at Mansfield College of Oxford University.
According to The Guardian, Cook has written extensively on queer urban life, the Aids crisis, and queer domesticity.
The position is funded by a £4.9M ($6,159,545) donation from the Arcadia Fund making it the first fully endowed specialist post in the UK.
“I will be working hard to enhance our understanding of the LGBTQ past and to show how these histories matter now. I’m tremendously excited to have this opportunity to help enlarge Oxford’s reputation for cutting-edge work in this burgeoning field,” Cook told The Guardian.
Cook will begin in October.
Italy Governor Withdraws Support for Pride Parade
Francesco Rocca via wikipedia.org.
Francesco Rocca, the right-wing leader of Italy’s Lazio region, has withdrawn the administration's support for Rome’s pride parade.
According to The Guardian, Rocca said that while the region was committed to civil rights, it could not be linked “with events aimed at promoting illegal conduct, with specific reference to surrogacy.”
The administration planned to sponsor the parade but backed out after organizers said their support was a sign that the region distanced itself from plans by the national government to criminalize people who seek surrogacy abroad.
Rocca made it clear that this was not the case.
Surrogacy has been a big topic in Italy after a parliamentary committee approved the text of a law that would criminalize Italians who go abroad to have children via surrogacy.
The decision to withdraw from the parade was met with praise from the right and criticism from the left.
“The intention is to destroy rainbow families in the name of the traditional family,” Alessandro Zan, a gay politician with the Democratic Party in Italy told The Guardian. While Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League, took to Instagram to say, “Support for the propaganda of rented wombs? No thanks.”
