Tel Aviv’s Rainbow Mirage: How Israel Used Gay Men, Glitter and Eurovision to Gaslight the World:
When propaganda slips into Speedos — how Israel turned Pride into policy.
Welcome to Tel Aviv, the city where the margaritas are cold, the abs are hard, and the politics are hidden somewhere behind a rainbow flag and a giant inflatable unicorn. On the surface, it’s Ibiza with hummus—sun, sea, techno beats, and half the cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race on holiday. But this isn’t just your average Pride destination. No, this is geopolitics in hotpants.
Over the past two decades, Israel has pulled off one of the most impressive PR stunts this side of a BP rebrand: convincing the world that it’s a progressive, LGBTQ+ haven while doing its very best to bulldoze that image elsewhere—quite literally, in some places. Welcome to Pinkwashing™: the art of weaponising gay rights to make bombing campaigns look a bit more inclusive.
The ‘Brand Israel’ Project: Selling Diversity by the Shot Glass.
Let’s rewind to the early 2000s, when Israel decided it had a bit of a branding problem. Something about being internationally known for military occupations, apartheid walls, and blowing up apartment blocks was starting to hurt tourism. So they asked themselves: “What do people like?” And someone in a Tel Aviv boardroom—probably wearing designer linen—shouted, “The gays!”
Enter the Brand Israel campaign: a slick, state-funded initiative that repositioned Israel not as a conflict zone, but as a sun-drenched, gay-friendly paradise where you could sip cocktails, party until dawn, and never once have to hear the word Gaza. Tel Aviv was transformed into the face of this operation—think Mykonos meets Mossad.
Massive marketing budgets were funnelled into positioning Tel Aviv as the gay capital of the Middle East. And in fairness, the party is great. You’ve got Pride parades with more sequins than a Eurovision final, drag brunches to die for, and beaches so homoerotic they make a Tom of Finland sketch look subtle. But it’s all part of a calculated campaign. Because this wasn’t just about tourism cash—oh no—it was about influence.
Targeting the Tastemakers: Manipulate the Gays, Win the Culture War.
You see, gay men in particular (sorry lesbians, you were less exploitable for branding purposes) often work in industries like media, fashion, arts, and entertainment. And you don’t have to be Alan Turing to work out that if you make them fall in love with Tel Aviv, you’ll get glowing press coverage, Instagram stories with tasteful filters, and dinner party anecdotes that go, “You simply must visit Tel Aviv! It’s so vibrant and open-minded!”—never mind the open-air prisons 40 miles down the road.
The tours these visitors get are like Disneyland but with more hummus. You’ll be whisked around perfectly curated historical sites, served a version of Israeli history that has all the complexity of a pop-up museum exhibit, and never once shown the West Bank—unless it’s from a helicopter, ideally with the caption “So much desert!” slapped on a TikTok reel.
It’s a sleight of hand. Like a magician shouting “Equality!” with one hand while the other quietly funds illegal settlements.
Pinkwashing: Love Is Love (Unless You’re Palestinian).
The term pinkwashing was coined to describe this exact phenomenon: using the LGBTQ+ community—its culture, its values, its suffering—as a human shield against criticism of state violence. It’s the political equivalent of putting a rainbow bumper sticker on a tank.
“Yes,” says the Israeli government, “we may be occupying Palestinian land, but look! Our soldiers can marry their same-sex partners and still fire tear gas at teenagers! Progress!”
It’s not just offensive—it’s disturbingly effective. Western liberals who might otherwise raise an eyebrow at apartheid policies find themselves caught in a queer conundrum. Do you call out human rights abuses? Or do you applaud Israel for being the only Middle Eastern country where Grindr works without a VPN?
Spoiler: you can do both. It’s called critical thinking.
Eurovision: Israel’s Annual Pink Propaganda Parade.
And then there’s Eurovision—that sparkly, gender-fluid fever dream of a song contest that’s technically meant to be European, but, as we all know, includes half the known universe and Australia.
Israel’s inclusion in Eurovision has always raised eyebrows, but never more so than in recent years. With the rising death toll in Gaza and international outcry mounting, critics have pointed out that Israel’s Eurovision entries function less like songs and more like state-sponsored TikTok ads for “fun, safe, liberal Israel!”
In 2019, Tel Aviv hosted the entire event, spending millions on pink lighting and PR while thousands of Palestinians remained under siege. This year, the backlash is louder, with open calls for boycott and disgust that the organisers continue letting Israel twirl on stage while its air force twirls in the skies above Rafah.
“You can’t bomb a refugee camp on Tuesday and then ask for twelve points from Belgium on Saturday”.
To quote one activist: “You can’t bomb a refugee camp on Tuesday and then ask for twelve points from Belgium on Saturday.”
A Note to the LGBTQ+ Community (Before You Cancel Me).
Let’s be crystal clear: this isn’t an attack on gay people. This is a warning for them.
You have been courted, flattered, and seduced—not with love, but with strategy. Israel didn’t embrace the LGBTQ+ community because it had a sudden burst of progressive conscience. It did it because it saw you as valuable: not just as tourists, but as influencers. You were marketed to, manipulated, and made into walking billboards for a state trying to rebrand occupation as open-mindedness.
It’s a hell of a trick. And it’s one that only works if you don’t look too closely.
Final Thoughts: Behind the Glitter Curtain.
So yes—Tel Aviv is fun. The parties are epic, the people are gorgeous, and the freedom is real… if you’re not Palestinian.
But while you’re sipping your Negroni in a rooftop bar decorated in rainbow flags, just ask yourself one thing: who built the illusion you’re living in? And who’s paying the price for it being maintained?
Because Pride, at its best, is about liberation for everyone—not just the ones whose stories make good marketing.
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References:
Ricochet Media – “How Israel leverages gay rights to put a progressive veneer atop atrocity”:
Mada Research – “Tourism as a Colonial Practice: Pinkwashing and the Israeli Pride Parade” (PDF):
Ynet News – “Campaign branding Tel Aviv gay destination underway”:
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3922524,00.html
The Jerusalem Post – “TA’s Gay Vibe aims to set tourism records”:
https://www.jpost.com/Israel/TAs-Gay-Vibe-aims-to-set-tourism-records
Dazed Digital – “Israel pinkwashing: the LGBTQ+ activists boycotting this year’s Eurovision”:
The Big Issue – “Why many fans are boycotting Eurovision 2024”:
https://www.bigissue.com/culture/music/eurovision-2024-boycott-israel-palestine
JSTOR – “Gay tourism to Tel-Aviv: Producing urban value?”:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26650836
Academia.edu – “Gay Tourism and the Geopolitics of Pinkwashing in Israel”:
https://www.academia.edu/44098815
Promotourist – “Israel Tourism Influencer Marketing”:
https://www.promotourist.com/en/israel-tourism-influencer-marketing/
Forge Organizing – “Pinkwashing 101: How Israel Turned Gay Pride into an Occasion for Oppression”:
https://forgeorganizing.org/article/pinkwashing-101-how-israel-turned-gay-pride-occasion-oppression
Below is what I expect will end up being one of my biggest articles and exposés. If you own an iPhone, it’s a must read — seriously!
The Glass Narc: How Your iPhone Is Becoming a Warden in Your Pocket:
Apple’s on-device processing isn’t just creepy — it quietly breaks encryption, misunderstands context, and could land you in serious trouble in the wrong regime.
Nobody does bull shit, perversion and subterfuge better than Israel!
A gem of a piece, was scarcely able to catch my breath in between all the zingers! Prior to reading this, I was wary of something being up, with "safe for LGBTQ+ people in Israel, but not in Islamic countries" phrases cropping up, often incongruously interjected in some hasbara-generated blather. Thanks for pulling back the curtain.
The effort and the shekels involved in this campaign have prompted to ask just what constitutes the Israeli economy. Of course one component is the military, but that's mostly funded by the US taxpayer. Then there is hi-tech spying, surveillance, profiling, hand held electronics device bomb rigging, and AI export sector. Related to that is the arms export business to right wing dictatorships worldwide. Tourism probably figured in to some extent, but hotel vacancies must be at all time highs, particularly since Ben-Gurion airport is within missile range of Yemen and Iran.
So aside from that, in more ways than one, just what do they do that's of any worth to the world?