There's been a bit of a kerfuffle recently regarding the decision by the New York City Gay and Lesbian Center to cancel an event to be held at the Center by an anti-Israel - or, if you prefer, pro-Palestinian - organization. The group, Siege Busters, is engaged in activism targeting the Jewish state, and specifically the military closure of the Gaza Strip.

Without going into the precise details - my own personal view is one of sympathy to both Israelis and Palestinians, and a desire for both nations to live in peace - this controversy raises some interesting issues.

First, given that gays and lesbians, to say nothing of transgender Americans, still labor under discriminatory laws, are we right to draw lines that cut us off from other oppressed peoples, which both Palestinians and Jews by any objective measure are?

Second, if we consider the passions stirred by this particular debate, which presumably obtain within the LGBT community as they do elsewhere, is it right for the Center to come down firmly on one side of it?

Third, what do we do with and about Palestinian queers, who come to New York City from one of the most extravagantly homophobic societies on earth expecting a safe harbor?

I'm not going to commend the Center on its decision or, for that matter, criticize it either. What's done is done. But it would behoove the Center, and all New Yorkers interested in its work, to give some more thought to the matters raised here.  read more »

Maybe the third time will be the charm: on Tuesday, New York City voters approved, again overwhelmingly, term limits for City elected officials.

The vote became necessary after not one but two prior referenda - in 1993 and 1996 - had been overturned by a vote of the City Council, goaded along by gentle prodding from the mayor's office. Conveniently enough, the law was changed just in time to allow said mayor to run for a third term.

It really was as if the political class had said to the voters 'yes, we know you wanted that thing, but are you sure you still want that thing?'

So, just to be clear: yes, we do want that thing.

For all of Mayor Bloomberg's prudishness, the animal instinct is alive and well in Babylon on the Hudson.

Street furniture in apparent homage to the female breast, Meatpacking District

I don't know what the Playgirl truck was doing outside of my gym - Maxim in Williamsburg, check it out - but it can't have been wholesome.

Via email from the good folks at J Street:

Michael,

Opponents of the proposed Muslim community center are holding a rally on 9/11 at the site of the proposed center -- and hope to drown out moderate voices of tolerance like ours with a message of hate and fear.

It's not the only event fanning the flames of anti-Muslim sentiment this weekend. As explained in this New York Times article, it is part of a rising tide of Islamophobia that is making Muslim Americans feel less welcome in their communities. In Florida, one Church is even garnering national and international attention for hosting a Koran burning!

Don't let these be the only voices heard this coming weekend.

Join J Street NYC on Sunday, September 12th to rally for tolerance with a diverse coalition of New Yorkers who are standing up for religious freedom.

Liberty Walk for Religious Freedom
2:30 pm on Sunday, September 12, 2010

Meet at Barclay and Broadway, on the side of City Hall Park
Wear blue to identify yourself as a J Street Supporter

J Street is the new Progressive pro-Israel group that's been making waves in New York and Washington. In short, good people doing good work.

Via The New York Times, put this on your calendar: The Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea presents a show of Claude Monet's late, Giverny-period work. It follows in the footsteps of 2009's Picasso exhibit, which was 2009's best show in a commercial gallery in New York City per Artinfo.com.

The show is curated by Paul Hayes Tucker and runs from May 1st to June 26th.

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