Trans teen called ‘a freak’ and violently dragged from anti-trans book launch
A trans teen was dragged from an anti-trans book event in Israel (PinkNews)
A trans teenager was wrestled to the ground and dragged from the launch of an anti-trans book, with people shouting at them that they are “diseased”.
On Sunday (28 May), hundreds of LGBTQ+ demonstrators gathered outside the Sela Meir publishing office in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan to protest against the publishing of the Hebrew translation of Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters.
The book was initially published in 2020 and discusses the idea that gender dysphoria is influenced by a youngster’s peers and social contagion, a concept not supported by any major medical institutions and for which the American author has been criticised.
The event was cancelled three times and moved to different locations after activists alerted venues to the content of the book.
Ticketholders were eventually told of the private location in Ramat Gan, but this was once again leaked.
Outside the venue, protesters waved Pride and Israeli flags, banged on drums and chanted slogans and phrases.
Inside the event, 17-year-old Ayelet approached Shrier before being tackled and dragged from the venue.
“We are not a disease, we are not a contagion, we are people,” the teen told the room, which prompted some in the audience to call them ” a disease” and a “freak”.
Following the incident, Ayelet – who reportedly uses they/them pronouns – told Israeli newspaper Haaretz they went to the event to protest against the “cynical exportation of bigotry” from the US to Israel.
“Israel has its own bigotry to deal with. Within that room there were about 50 people, mostly Americans. Why? Because no one here cares about it. It’s an entirely manufactured outrage,” the teen said.
“I am a trans person and, as someone who is 17-years-old, am fully in the right to make choices about my own body. Despite Abigail Shrier’s best attempts, my parents love me and accept me for who I am.”
Protest organiser Amy Roseman told The Times of Israel that the book pushes misinformation which encourages parents to not accept their trans children.
“It’s a book full of lies,” Roseman claimed. “Inside it, there is an attempt to import ideas from overseas, which are foreign to the political dialogue in Israel. It’s something that has no place here and is full of hate. The book promotes the idea that transgenderism is something that can be cured.
“We speak a lot about conversion therapy. It leads to depression, suicide, mental illness and a lot of pain that can be prevented if parents accept their children.”
