And Just Like That star Sara Ramirez was spotted carrying a trans rights flag as they joined thousands of protesters at a ‘free Palestine’ rally in Brooklyn on Saturday.
The 48-year-old non-binary actor wore a keffiyeh – a monochrome patterned scarf which is a patriotic symbol of Palestinian identity – with a black North Face jacket, cap and dark sunglasses as they marched through the Bay Ridge neighborhood.
The use of LGBT paraphernalia at pro-Palestine protests has baffled many, since the Islamic Middle Eastern state follows sharia law, and as noted by Amnesty International, it is not safe for the queer community.
Others see the fight for queer rights and anti-colonialism as intertwined because anti-gay laws were first introduced in Palestine by Britain in 1885 – though former colonial powers have since abolished such legislation in their own countries.
Ramirez posted an Instagram story of the protest on Saturday with the crowd chanting the age-old rallying cry: ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’, while the demonstrator in front carried a sign demanding a ‘ceasefire’.
And Just Like That star Sara Ramirez has been spotted among protesters at a ‘free Palestine ‘ rally in Brooklyn
The 48-year-old non-binary actor carried a flag bearing the trans colors of pink, baby blue and white as they joined thousands of people marching through the Bay Ridge neighborhood on Saturday. Ramirez goes by they/them pronouns
Ramirez stars in the reboot of Sex and the City, And Just Like That, which features the original cast nearly 20 years on from the last episode of the original series, plus new members. (Pictured: Ramirez (right) beside Cynthia Nixon, who plays Miranda Hobbes in the series)
The bisexual actor, who plays Che Diaz in the SATC reboot, thanked Qween Jean – a transgender costume designer who has previously led Black Lives Matter protests – for heading up the Brooklyn march.
Qween Jean also shared footage of themselves leading the chant before panning to surrounding protesters including Ramirez.
Images of Ramirez joining the chant were shared by fan accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, which said the actor had also been sharing resources on how to help Gaza and how to get involved locally.
A march in London on the same day saw what appeared to be a group bearing the Palestinian flag tear down an LGBT flag, sparking a conflict.
Palestine is not an LGBT-friendly nation. An Amnesty report last year highlighted how ‘authorities failed to prevent and investigate homophobic and transphobic threats and attacks’ in the country.
Outlining an example of homophobia in the nation, the report said: ‘On 9 July (2022) security forces stood by and watched as a mob beat youths and children participating in a parade organized by Ashtar Theatre in Ramallah that included rainbow flags.
‘The attack came amid a wave of incitement to violence and hate speech against LGBTI people and feminists that the authorities failed to investigate.’
Ramirez posted an Instagram story of the protest on Saturday with the crowd chanting the age-old rallying cry: ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’, while the demonstrator in front carried a sign demanding a ‘ceasefire’
Admiration isn’t always mutual.
A group baring the Palestine flag tackle down an LGBT+ progress flag and trample it on the ground, sparking conflict during today’s demo in London: pic.twitter.com/S2Ot5UVrl1
— Lois McLatchie Miller (@LoisMcLatch) October 21, 2023
Gay rights activist and Israeli writer Lior Halabi recently called out what he described as the ‘hypocrisy’ of supporting both causes, while writing in America’s oldest LGBT newspaper, the Washington Blade.
‘Despite the dark situation for gay Palestinians who face legal and social abuse and even murder by Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, some US left-wing and LGBTQ groups bizarrely still support the Free Palestine group,’ Halabi wrote.
‘This group, while calling for Israel’s destruction, allows the abuse of its own LGBTQ people.’
The Bay Ridge protest in west Brooklyn began peacefully through the day, but clashes broke out between demonstrators and NYPD officers as night fell, as their numbers swelled to an estimated 5,000 over the course of the day.
‘Say it loud, say it clear, we don’t want no Zionists here!’ protesters were heard shouting from within the rally, which police confined to the most part around 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue.
‘We will free Palestine within our lifetime!’ others cried, touting signs reading, ‘We stand with Palestine,’ and, ‘Once upon a time… There was humanity,’ along with other similar sentiments.
Some Jews were even seen at the planned protest, with one telling ABC News that ‘as a Jewish person’, she ‘[did not] want the Jewish religion to be the reason for this occupation.’
Ramirez with And Just Like That co-star Sarah Jessica Parker on location earlier this year
Another added to the outlet of why she was there: ‘[All we are asking is] just treat the Palestinians as humans. They deserve every human right as any other civilians. Just treat a human as a human.
‘That’s all we’re asking for.’
The protest was preceded by another one in Manhattan on Friday, where some 139 pro-Palestinians were cuffed for blocking traffic in Midtown – by a group organized by the Democratic Socialists of America.
As the protest reached its apex Saturday night, an Israeli aircraft struck a compound beneath a mosque in the occupied West Bank – a location the country’s military said was being used by terrorists to organize attacks
Palestinian medics have confirmed that at least one person was killed, as Israel continues to shell the region after the Hamas-led attacks earlier in the week that killed at least 1,400 Israelis.