Mural of rainbow flag sparks rare Palestinian debate on gays

Source: AP

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — A Palestinian artist whose mural of a rainbow flag on Israel's West Bank separation barrier was whitewashed by anti-gay protesters says his work sparked a rare debate among Palestinians about gay rights.

Khaled Jarrar said Wednesday that he received hundreds of Facebook messages — some threatening but others supportive or curious — since he painted the flag on six barrier cement slabs Monday.

Jarrar, 39, says his art was meant as a reminder that Palestinians live under Israeli occupation, at a time when gay rights are in the news after the U.S. allowed same-sex weddings. But protesters perceived the mural as support for homosexuality, a taboo subject in Palestinian society, and whitewashed it.

The artist says he told his critics that "we can only demand equality if we give it."



This Monday, June 29, 2015 photo provided by Palestinian artist Khaled Jarrar shows his painting of a rainbow flag on six slabs of the West Bank separation barrier in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The artist, Jarrar, said Tuesday his art was meant as a reminder that Palestinians live under Israeli occupation, at a time when gay rights are in the news after the U.S. allowed same-sex weddings. (Khaled Jarrar via AP)

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/3b7eea5f24ee4099a89d7707c222863f/mural-rainbow-flag-sparks-rare-palestinian-debate-gays