Haneen Maikey is a Palestinian queer community organizer, co-founder and the executive director of the national Palestinian LGBTQ organization “alQaws for Sexual and Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society.” This lecture shares the grassroots experience of alQaws– the national LGBTQ Palestinian organization—to frame a discussion on how to challenge oppressive systems and offer creative strategies for leading real change in how Palestinian society perceives sexual and gender diversity issues. Queer organizing in Palestine has always been a complex and charged topic, due to its intersection with multiple systems of oppression (e.g., patriarchal, colonial, etc.). These intersections shaped the strategy and ideology of Palestinian queer movements, which adopted a political approach that refuses to isolate sexual and gender diversity issues from the broader colonial context in Palestine. We will take a close look at different aspects of queer organizing in Palestine, specifically: the role of Palestinian history and tradition, the impact of Israeli occupation, the “Pinkwashing” propaganda campaign, as well as the ongoing and shifting dynamics we experience in relation to international LGBT communities.