Reisner said at the time that his great aunt “was murdered in Auschwitz” and that “we are not too far from history to be wary of politicians who make bad decisions that threaten our lives. The deal with Iran concerns me. Anti-Semitic murder in Paris and Copenhagen concerns me. Bringing Senator Johnson to New York to discuss foreign policy and security helped educate my close friends about these very real issues.”

Reisner is hardly alone in this regard. Gay porn king Michael Lucas has been outspoken in his support of Israel’s right-wing government, going so far as to bully New York’s LGBT Center into banning a pro-Palestinian group from meeting there. (After a yearlong brouhaha, the Center banned both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups.)

As at Reisner’s event, Lucas has often “discussed” the contrast between “gay rights in Israel versus the rest of the Middle East.” This is what’s known as pinkwashing, the highlighting of Israel’s excellent record on LGBT equality as a way of defending its totally unrelated policies regarding Palestine or Iran. Israel is pro-gay, therefore support Israel in all ways.

Likewise, conservatives like Cruz, who write laws preventing my partner from visiting me in the hospital, suddenly wave the rainbow flag when it comes to Iran.