In the upscale gay resort town of Fire Island Pines, colorful flags honor L.G.B.T.Q. history makers like the actress Wanda Sykes and the drag queen RuPaul in a small park near the harbor. For a few hours this month, one flag also honored Representative Ritchie Torres, the first openly gay Afro-Latino member of Congress. The dispute on Fire Island, just off Long Island, was just one expression of the tensions over the Gaza war that have wracked American public life. community, whose members hail from every ethnic and social background and tend to be highly attuned to issues of social justice, the war has touched off some especially raw conflicts.

---

Persons: Wanda Sykes, RuPaul, Ritchie Torres, Torres, Israel, Michael Lucas Organizations: ACT Locations: Fire, Long, Gaza, New