Adam Eli, a gay Jewish New Yorker, was verbally attacked by a man who followed him out of the NYC subway on Monday. The man was angry that Eli was wearing a pink kippah (yarmulke). Eli also carried a purse and had a Pride patch sewn on his jeans. He shared video of the encounter on Twitter.
The man accused Eli of desecrating the name of God. “Any man that lies with another man, it's an abomination. … You'll be murdered for it! Take the kippah off!”
Eli said he shared the video to make a point about the harassment of LGBTQ people in general, and looking out for others in the community.
Tweeted Eli: “I spent the first 18 years of my life listening to people tell me I couldn't be gay and Jewish. Today I love my queer jewish identity and nobody is taking that away from me. This is a fraction of what our trans + GNC family get every single day. In this moment I was able to stand up to my attacker NOT bc I'm brave but bc I'm a white resourced man in a heavily trafficked place. We know what happens when a white man attacks a black trans women.”
To my fellow cis white gays who generally ‘pass' for being hetro in public: this is whats out there,” Eli added. “Most of the time we can get on the subway, go for a run or go on a date in peace. That does not mean our struggle for queer liberation is over. Racism, transphobia, xenophobia, islamophobia, anti semitism and ableism hold hands. Our ancestors taught us none of us are safe until all of us are safe. Queer culture is not going to Equinox and getting brunch. Queer culture is about fighting for ur community.”
Mayor Bill De Blasio tweeted: “It takes courage to confront homophobia and tell a story like this. I'm sorry you had to go through this, Adam. But we're proud of how you responded. There's no place for hate in this city.”
