Pinkwashing is a compound word combining pink and whitewashing that is used by anti-Israel activists who claim that Israel's queer-friendliness is a deliberate marketing and political strategy designed to deflect attention from perceived wrongdoing by the Israeli government.
In other words, critics say that Israel uses its status as a safe-haven for the queer community as a way to divert international attention from its alleged human rights abuses. In reality, Israel is the only place in the Mideast that provides safety and support for the LGBT community. In Gaza, homosexuality is illegal and in the West Bank being an ‘out’ member of the LGBT community can lead to harassment and even murder. On campus, Israel is often decried for pinkwashing and that argument is used as a rationale for the BDS movement. Regionally, Israel is an island of tolerance and acceptance with neighbors going so far as to criminalize homosexuality with penalties ranging from jail time and torture (Egypt, Iran, Gaza, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen) to execution (Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq). Some neighbor countries even criminalize dissemination of material that could be interpreted as LGBTQ propaganda (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Qatar, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Kuwait). Israel is also the only country in the region to offer protection from hate crimes, discrimination, harassment and protection for members of the trans community. These protections are not offered by the PA or Hamas.