Being unapologetically Iranian, Jewish and LGBTQ+ in a war zone

“Iranian, Jewish, LGBTQ+.” That’s the first line you’ll read on activist Matthew Nouriel’s Instagram page. With over 58,000 followers, Nouriel uses his platform to advocate for all parts of his identity, from women in Iran to Jews in Israel and LGBTQ+ people across the Middle East.

But his identity has never intersected more dramatically than last month, when Nouriel arrived in Israel for Tel Aviv Pride, only to find himself living through a war with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Prior to the conflict, Nouriel had travelled from LA to Israel as part of the Jewish Federations of North America’s Pride Delegation, with a group of nearly 100 LGBTQ+ Jewish people. The trip ended just one day before the outbreak of the war, which saw the Tel Aviv Pride parade cancelled and all accompanying events postponed.

“A lot of the LGBTQ+ community in Israel has felt very isolated from the global LGBTQ+ community,” Nouriel told The Jewish Independent.

“We wanted to be there in solidarity with them [in Israel] and show them look, there’s a hundred of us. This is just a small slice of the entire population that's standing very much behind you.”

Being an outspoken advocate for both LGBTQ+ and Jewish people has always been important to Nouriel.

Born in London to Jewish-Iranian immigrant parents, he moved to Los Angeles aged 14 and came out as gay a year later.

“I’m part of the LGBTQ+ community and I’ve always been very outspoken about things, although I didn't have any direction to place that outspokenness,” Nouriel explained. “So, I just became very rebellious, and I had a lot to rebel against. I didn't have the easiest time growing up gay in the Iranian Jewish community.

“But within the last decade, I've really found my place within the Jewish world and within the LGBTQ+ world as well. I found how to stand strong in all facets of my intersecting identity.”

During the early years of his online activism, Nouriel would often dress in drag as “The Empress Mizrahi,” but it’s an art form he no longer has time for.

Today, his content focuses on raising awareness about human rights abuses in Iran, especially following the 2022 ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ protests; advocating for Israel in its fight against Islamic Republic-backed terrorist groups; and calling out antisemitism in the West, particularly in LGBTQ+ and progressive spaces.

In addition to his activism, Nouriel has worked for the last three years as the director of community outreach and engagement at JIMENA (Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa).

The organisation advocates for the recognition of the history, heritage, and rights of the almost one million Jewish refugees who fled the Middle East and North Africa, as well as their descendants. This includes combatting false narratives of the Arab-Israeli conflict. In particular, the claim that Israel is a European, white, colonial state, despite the 650,000 Jews who arrived as refugees after being expelled from nine Arab states and Iran – and whose descendants make up the majority of Jews in Israel today.

That complex history, which informs so much of Nouriel’s identity and work, entered a dangerous new chapter during his visit to Israel, when Israel’s strikes on the Iran began.

When he saw the initial alerts on his phone, Nouriel admits he didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary. After texting his Airbnb host and discovering his bedroom doubled as a safe room, he went back to sleep. When he woke up to the news the next day – the outbreak of the war and the cancellation of Tel Aviv’s pride parade – his initial reaction was one of excitement: “I was excited that somebody had the balls to take on the Islamic Republic regime and actually do something about it".

“I thought this was going to be it, the regime was going to be toppled, that's all I could think of. I was so proud to be in Israel for that moment, and that adrenaline and excitement went on through to the next day.

“It wasn't until the third night of the bombardment, that's when it hit me that I was in a freaking war zone, and that this is terrifying. If a missile hit my building, mamad [safe room] or not, I would be done.”

Despite his fear, Nouriel felt he was in the right place at the right time. While he was disappointed that Tel Aviv Pride was cancelled – along with his chance to wear his IDF drag outfit – he says he felt prouder of Israel standing up to the Islamic Republic than he would at any pride festivities.

He believes the ceasefire after 12 days of war came too soon. “Had it gone on just a few more days, the IDF and Israel would have been able to knock out more of the regime's infrastructure and the IRGC infrastructure, so the [Iranian] people would have had a fighting chance to rise up against the regime. But it was stopped short.”

Nouriel is still processing being in Israel to experience the war. “Being Iranian, being Jewish, and being in Israel was something you can't really put words to,” he said. “It was really meaningful, because I know a lot of Iranian Jews really love their Persianess. They didn't want to leave it behind, a lot of Jews didn't want to leave Iran. They felt like they didn't have a choice. So, it's an interesting dichotomy.”

Something that isn’t complicated for Nouriel however, is the importance of Tel Aviv Pride. In June 2023, he was able to experience its full glory, wearing an all-pink outfit with the word “pinkwasher” written across his leg to the celebrations.

Such a term is used by anti-Israel activists, in particular pro-Palestinian LGBTQ+ groups, who wish to discredit the advancement of LGBTQ+ rights in Israel. The allegation is that, rather than demonstrating democratic rights in Israel, LGBTQ+ rights and pride are used to “pinkwash” (or deflect from) allegations of human rights abuses towards Palestinian people. To Nouriel, it’s a baseless accusation.

“It’s stupid,” he says. “The gay rights are there. Isn’t that the whole point of queer liberation and gay rights, to ensure that those laws are in place? And Israel has them.

“My biggest gripe with these people is that they're spending so much time talking about Israel, accusing Israel of pinkwashing. And it really doesn't change anything for us as Zionists, queer Zionists, or queer people living in Israel, it makes no difference. It's just making a lot of noise.”

Instead, Nouriel says queer activists should focus on advancing LGBTQ+ rights everywhere, rather than scrutinising those that already exist in Israel.

“They could be spending that energy on making a difference, on fighting for queer rights and for equality in all of the countries across the Middle East and North Africa where they don't exist, where gay people are being hunted, executed, killed, beheaded, [there are] honour killings, and so on.

“In Iran, they're being executed just for existing. They never want to speak up about that.”

While LGBTQ+ spaces have become increasingly hostile to Jews, especially those who identify as Zionist, Nouriel says Tel Aviv Pride feels like a total celebration of his intersectional identity. Next year, he plans to return to Tel Aviv, “schlepping” his IDF drag outfit in the hope of finally wear it.

“[The 2023] Tel Aviv Pride was a pure celebration of who I am, holistically. Iranian, Jewish, queer, all of it, and I didn't have to hide anything,” he concluded.

“I've been to pride so many times in the US and in LA, but this felt like it was mine, like it was for me and my people specifically, and it makes me feel very proud.”