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Police Finish Up Preparation for Jerusalem's Annual Gay Parade

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JERUSALEM, Israel – Over the past couple of days, municipal workers have busied themselves hanging rainbow flags along Jerusalem streets in preparation for Thursday's annual gay parade.

Many have attended the annual event, which began in 2002 under the banner, "Love without Borders." Some come because they like parades while others want to help celebrate homosexual rights.

Israel Police are also finishing up security arrangements for the march, a divisive event at best, which is not accepted by everyone. Every year, police deploy thousands of additional officers, including undercover personnel, not only to protect the marchers and spectators, but also to prevent potential terror attacks on the crowded streets.

Many observant Israelis oppose the march on religious and moral grounds, especially in Jerusalem.  

This week, Jerusalem Chief Rabbi Aryeh Stern asked Mayor Nir Barkat to take down the rainbow flags in front of two synagogues on the parade route. In a letter, Stern said the synagogues are "symbols of the holiness of Jerusalem" and added, "Everyone is able to understand that flags which unfortunately symbolize the opposite should not be flown there."

At the 2015 parade, an ultra-Orthodox Jew named Yishai Schlissel stabbed seven onlookers, killing a 16-year-old girl named Shira Banki.

It was revealed afterward that Schlissel had been released a few weeks earlier after serving a 10-year sentence for stabbing three people at the 2005 parade. That same year, Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox lost a petition to the court to cancel the event.

The Jerusalem District Court sentenced him to life, plus 31 years. He was reportedly unremorseful in court.

In a blow to the gay community, the Knesset passed a surrogacy law two weeks ago that excludes homosexual couples and single men.


Israeli marcher at a past gay pride parade in Jerusalem holds signs that read, 'It is my right to be me without being questioned' and 'Burn the cabninet and not the person inside' Photo, GPO archive

The law's passage inflamed the LGBTQ community, which immediately organized protest marches and other demonstrations attended by tens of thousands. Politicians and other public figures also protested the decision to deny homosexual men surrogacy rights.

Following a massive demonstration in Tel Aviv, Israeli media accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of waffling on the decision. While he did not respond to the onslaught of media criticism, his wife, Sara, assured the public that she supports gay rights and the prime minister genuinely cares about the people..

Tel Aviv's annual gay parade took place in June. For years, the city's mayor, Ron Huldai, has said his goal is to make Tel Aviv the gay capital of the world.

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About The Author

Tzippe
Barrow

From her perch high atop the mountains surrounding Jerusalem, Tzippe Barrow tries to provide a bird’s eye view of events unfolding in her country. Tzippe’s parents were born to Russian Jewish immigrants, who fled the czar’s pogroms to make a new life in America. As a teenager, Tzippe wanted to spend a summer in Israel, but her parents, sensing the very real possibility that she might want to live there, sent her and her sister to Switzerland instead. Twenty years later, the Lord opened the door to visit the ancient homeland of her people.