A gay Palestinian man, Ahmad Abu Marhia, only 25, was found beheaded in the West Bank, Palestinian Authority on October 5. He had been living in Israel on asylum, fearful he would be killed if his Palestinian community found him close to home.
The Palestinian Authority police said they have a suspect and it is unclear how Ahmad Abu Marhia found himself in Hebron, West Bank –– this is the same city that calls for the mass-slaughtering of dogs, $20 a truck-full that we reported on a year ago.
Being gay is illegal in the Middle East, except for in Israel. But even in Israel being associated with “gayness” in conservative Arab towns and cities may be unwelcome. Remember the gay tahina in Nazareth that was boycotted? About 10 years ago Kuwait played around with the idea of creating a GayDar test for visitors to the country. You will lose your job or your life for being gay in Iran or Cairo. An acquaintance of mine was put in prison in Cairo during the Arab Spring for being gay and Bahai. He was beat up almost to the point of death, he told me.
A video of the murder of Abu Marhia was circulating on social media and the motive for the murder is not known. But what is gleaned from the LGBTIQA+ community in Israel is that Abu Marhia had spent two years in Israel waiting on an asylum claim. He had death threats against him and was waiting to get the go-ahead to move to Canada. He was supposed to be moving there next month.
In the Israeli media it is reported that he was kidnapped from Israel to the West Bank where he wasn’t protected. His family, disagreed, said he came to Hebron to work.
The Associated Press reported his decapitated head and body were left near his family’s home late at night October 5. The video and photos of the incident went viral on social media late October 6: “I was shocked because of the way they killed him, and the way they decided to post and share it online,” says Tomer Aldubi, 29, a gay Israeli Jewish activist and artist who has worked with LGBTQ Palestinians for many years and knew Marakhia who spoke with the Bay Area Reporter in the US.
Homosexuality is rejected by conservative Muslims in Israel, and the Palestinian Authority, but in Israel you can live your life freely and openly if you are gay, especially in Tel Aviv. (Tel Aviv’s LGBTQ community also works to make their annual gay parade more ecological). Abu Marhia was hoping to go to Canada, where the country openly accepts refugees from the Palestinian Authority, Afghanistan and Syria.
Activist Natali Farah told Israel’s Haaretz newspaper that Ahmad Abu Marhia was well known. “Everyone is scared,” she said. Palestinians also expressed revulsion at the beheading. There are about 90 Palestinians who identify as LGBT who currently live as asylum seekers in Israel.
If you are gay and an Arab and seek protection in the Palestinian Authority or Israel contact the Different House.
The organization works in the following fields:
- Legal and welfare assistance to the Arab LGBT people
- Strengthening the community bond by encouraging volunteering within the Arab LGBT community
- Creating social events designated for the Arab LGBT community
- Making, translating and publishing info material regarding the Arab LGBT community in Arabic
- Creating network of collaborations with relevant organizations in Palestine, Israel and other countries
