Glennon Doyle's antisemitic posts have no place at pride. Reconsider, Nashville
Glennon Doyle, a best-selling author and social media icon with millions of followers, was recently named Grand Marshal of Nashville Pride.
This honor is meant to reflect the highest values of the LGBTQ+ community. But Doyle's platform has become a megaphone amplifying disinformation that endangers Jews — and distorts the truth about Israel.
On May 16th, Doyle posted on Instagram: 'For the love of all humanity: FREE PALESTINE.'
Four days later, she reposted a viral claim — since retracted by the United Nations — that 14,000 babies in Gaza had 'less than 48 hours to live.' She closed her caption again with the words: 'Free Palestine'
Let's stop pretending this is harmless.
On May 25th in Washington, D.C., two young people — Sarah Milgrim, a Jewish woman, and Yaron Lischinsky, a Christian Israeli man — were targeted and murdered at a Jewish peace event. The gathering, hosted by the American Jewish Committee and attended by Israeli embassy staff and young American delegates, focused on humanitarian aid for Gazan civilians.
After pulling the trigger, the shooter shouted: 'Free Palestine.'
On June 1st in Boulder, Colorado, another violent attack took place. Molotov cocktails were hurled at Jews in broad daylight — including a Holocaust survivor. The assailant screamed 'Free Palestine' as he lit Jewish bodies on fire.
Let's be clear: 'Free Palestine' — a political slogan tied to the Iranian-backed BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement — is doing exactly what it was designed to do: morph into an open call for violence.
More: A surge in antisemitism on campuses is changing how Jewish students pick universities
These are not innocent reposts. These are narratives that demonize Jews, erase Zionism, call for the destruction of Israel and undermine American values. From Instagram captions to the final words of murderers, this is no longer just a chant. It's a weapon.
And this isn't just a Jewish problem. This is an American problem.
Islamist radicalization — fueled by online propaganda, spread through campus activism and now cloaked in the language of influencer 'empathy' — is here. And it is deadly.
The irony is hard to ignore: Doyle champions a cause whose militant factions would criminalize her very existence as a gay woman — an identity that, in most all of these regimes, is punishable by death.
Yet whether knowingly or not, she continues to echo slogans rooted in movements hostile to LGBTQ+ rights and women's freedoms.
I write this not just as a Jew, but as a Nashvillian. I recently returned from a post-war delegate mission to Israel, my third since the war.
I've walked through the ashes of October 7th. I've spoken to survivors. I've embraced released hostages. I've met with those on the physical front lines of this conflict as well as foreign ambassadors brokering solutions.
I've attended foreign-policy conferences focused on peace and accountability. And I've seen how disinformation spreads online before the truth can take a breath.
What Doyle may see as compassion is functioning as accelerant — fueling age-old antisemitic tropes and justifying hate on American soil. Her followers are not extremists. They're American women, moms, activists, authors, dreamers and influencers — many of whom now echo phrases like 'genocide,' 'apartheid' and 'settler-colonialism' without context, education or accountability.
This isn't empathy. It's a polished, pastel-wrapped form of hate — and it's metastasizing.
More: Nashville Jewish community reflects on Israel support since Oct. 7, rallies for road ahead
It flattens geopolitical complexity into clickbait and repackages extremism as virtue. It radicalizes soccer moms in yoga pants, sipping green juice and posting 'sham spirituality' between affiliate links while chanting BDS slogans they don't understand.
Chief among them: 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free' — a call for the erasure of Israel and the Jewish people.
Worse, it's being celebrated. Instead of confronting the harm Doyle's posts have caused, Nashville is rewarding her with the Grand Marshal title — a role that symbolizes community trust, visibility and shared values.
We know false claims travel faster than truth. And their damage lingers. Nearly 70% of people still believe misinformation even after it's been debunked. And nearly half the world's population — 46%, according to the ADL — harbors antisemitic views.
In this climate, elevating someone like Doyle isn't just irresponsible. It's reckless.
Jewish safety is everyone's safety. What begins with the Jews never ends with us. A society that tolerates antisemitism invites violence, radicalization and collapse — for all.
This isn't a call to cancel. It's a call to wake up.
Doyle must take responsibility. She must meet with Jewish leaders, learn the truth behind the slogans she's amplified and publicly acknowledge the damage done. Silence is complicity. Influence is never neutral.
And Nashville Pride must reconsider its decision.
You cannot fight for one group's dignity by standing on the neck of another. You cannot celebrate love while platforming hate. Let this be a moment of intellectual courage and civic clarity.
Because when slogans become weapons and lies go viral, our only defense is truth. And who we choose to elevate reveals who we are.
Alyssa Rosenheck is a bestselling author and photographer who uses her lens to advocate for our collective home. Through her forthcoming book, White. Blonde. Jew. (Spring 2026), and firsthand insights from post-war delegations to Israel, she confronts modern antisemitism while inspiring truth-tellers and cultural clarity.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Pride Grand Marshal Doyle is complicit in hate | Opinion
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
13 minutes ago
- Axios
Inside Hakeem Jeffries' decision to filibuster Trump's big bill
The overwhelming consensus on Capitol Hill was that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) would only delay President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" by about an hour. As noon approached on Thursday, that expectation was shattered. Why it matters: For months, the Democratic base has been demanding their party's leaders " fight harder" and use every tool at their disposal to stymie the GOP agenda. In the eyes of many lawmakers, this is Jeffries delivering. Jeffries blasted the GOP's marquee tax and spending bill as an "immoral document," vowing to "stand up and push back against it with everything we have on behalf of the American people." As of late Thursday morning, Jeffries was on track to surpass then-Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) record-breaking, 8-and-a-half hour speech to delay the Build Back Better vote in 2021. If Jeffries keeps speaking until 1:23pm ET, he will have set a new record. What we're hearing: One of Jeffries' central motivations, numerous Democratic sources told Axios, was to ensure that Republicans were forced to pass the bill during daylight hours and not in the dead of night. Jeffries said in his speech: "I ask the question, if Republicans were so proud of this one big, ugly bill, why did debate begin at 3:28am in the morning?" "This is about fighting for the American people ... forcing it into the daylight and telling some stories about the real impacts," House Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) told Axios. Zoom in: Jeffries spoke with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) ahead of the speech to warn him about his plans, two sources familiar with the discussion told Axios on the condition of anonymity to share details of a private conversation. The House Democratic leader communicated that he was "just going to do an hour," one of the sources said, but that it "may be longer now." Another source said Jeffries made that decision "when he learned [Johnson] was going to stay all night until he got the votes." What he's saying: "Budgets are moral documents, and in our view ... budgets should be designed to lift people up," Jeffries said in his speech. "This reckless Republican budget that we are debating right now on the floor on the House of Representatives tears people down ... and every should vote 'no' against it," he said. Jeffries was consistently surrounded by dozens of House Democratic colleagues, who raucously applauded him throughout his speech. Yes, but: The Democratic leader did face a bit of frustration from his caucus for leaving even his inner circle in the dark about his plans. "No one is upset Hakeem wanted to do this, but to not tell members, 'be prepared, book multiple flights, be flexible,'" one House Democrat vented, grumbling that it is particularly hard to rebook flights around the July 4 holiday. Another House Democrat fumed that a "heads up would have been nice." Between the lines: Jeffries' marathon speech comes after Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) delivered a 25-hour filibuster in April that earned him plaudits from the Democrats' grassroots as a resistance hero. Later that month, Jeffries and Booker held a day-long sit-in on the Capitol steps in protest of Republicans' fiscal plans. The bottom line:"The base wants to see certain things and we have to show them those things, otherwise they don't believe we're fighting hard enough," another House Democrat told Axios of Jeffries' speech.
16 minutes ago
Elephant kills 2 female tourists from the UK. New Zealand in Zambian national park
LUSAKA, Zambia -- Two elderly female tourists in Zambia were killed by an elephant Thursday while on a walking safari in a national park, police said. Eastern Province Police Commissioner Robertson Mweemba said the victims — 68-year-old Easton Janet Taylor from the U.K. and 67-year-old Alison Jean Taylor from New Zealand — were attacked by a female elephant that was with a calf. Safari guides who were with the group attempted to stop the elephant from charging at the women by firing shots at it, police said. The elephant was hit and wounded by the gunshots. The guides were unable to prevent the elephant's attack and both women died at the scene, police said. It happened at the South Luangwa National Park in eastern Zambia, around 600 kilometers (370 miles) from the capital, Lusaka. Female elephants are very protective of their calves and can respond aggressively to what they perceive as threats. Last year, two American tourists were killed in separate encounters with elephants in different parts of Zambia. In both cases, the tourists were also elderly women and were on a safari vehicle when they were attacked.
The Onion
17 minutes ago
- The Onion
What's In Trump's Big Beautiful Bill
President Donald Trump's budget megabill is in the House of Representatives after being narrowly passed by the Senate. Here are the key items in 'The One Big Beautiful Bill Act.' Funding for something called 'The Facility.' Smaller, phone booth–sized detention boxes on every American street corner. Coupon for 'buy two get one free' 12-packs of Coca-Cola products at ShopRite. A few new mean nicknames for Jeb Bush. A map of California inside a red circle with a cross through it. A glossy centerfold photo of a hot woman who is about to lose her health insurance. The end of treatment for those currently receiving CPR. Sen. Lisa Murkowski's world-famous moose tracks ice cream recipe. Moderate cuts to Medicaid compared to what's coming.
