Morning News :: The Jerusalem Post :: 4,000 march Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade

"Last Generation Forums" :: Morning News :: The Jerusalem Post :: 4,000 march Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade  Author Topic: 4,000 march Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade (Read 1 time) Michael James Stone Administrator Site-Administrator member isonline   Joined: May 2012 Gender: Male Posts: 1,504 4,000 march Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade « Thread Started Today at 11:21am »    4,000 march in 10th annual Jerusalem Pride Parade  By MELANIE LIDMANLAST UPDATED: 08/02/2012 19:49Capital displays its gay pride as LGBT community, supporters march; haredim counter-protest: Israel is holy land, not homo land.  PHOTO: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST Four thousand people marched in the 10th annual Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade in the capital on Thursday, waving rainbow flags of all shapes and sizes in the non-violent protest. In contrast to past years, there were no haredim standing by the parade route in protest. For the first time since 2005, the parade returned to its original route down King George and Keren HaYesod streets, where they stopped to observe a moment of silence where three participants were stabbed in 2005 by a haredi extremist. Related: Center to combat LBGT abuse opens in TA Live coverage: Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade Adam Russo, who was injured in the stabbing, addressed the crowd before the parade started on Thursday. “Against violence, you can never give up,” he said. “If you give up, it will only get stronger, it will only be legitimized.” Russo also condemned activists who accuse Israel of “pinkwashing,” by highlighting Israel’s tolerance for the gay community as an excuse for other human rights violations. “There is a small minority, which is getting smaller, and when they call it “pinkwashing” it does not allow us to celebrate our advancements,” he said. American philanthropist Lynn Schusterman, an early supporter of the Open House, Jerusalem’s community center for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, was the keynote speaker. “I believe in an open and inclusive world where we can be proud of who we are,” Schusterman told The Jerusalem Post. She said she started supporting the Open House 12 years ago after a rash of suicides by gay teenagers in the capital. Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade 2012 1 OF 10 Marc Israel Sellem  Four thousand people marched in the 10th annual Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade in the capital. Dozens of youth groups and political groups joined the march carrying banners from their movements. Sixty members of Telem, the Reform Youth Movement, came from all over the country to show their political support for equal marriage, said 18-year-old Hadar Katz. Members of the right-wing Likud’s gay group joined the parade for the first time after their founding 9 months ago. Evan Cohen of Ramat Gan said that the Likud party embraced them but the left-wing political parties did not. Even 20 anarchists joined the parade, dressed in black and pink, and chanted against the opposition. The colorful, musical parade that wound its way down King George Street with rainbow balloons flying from decorated wheelchairs and even a lone bagpipe with a rainbow beanie was a visual shock compared with the black and white counter protest in the haredi neighborhood of Mea Shaarim. Ahead of the parade, right-wing activists led by Baruch Marzel said they planned to bring eight live donkeys to the parade to protest the “bestiality” of the Pride and Tolerance parade. Elinor Sidi, the director of Jerusalem’s Open House said that Marzel tries to bring donkeys to the parade every year. “This is animal abuse, and we really hope the Agricultural Ministry will get involved to stop this,” she said. Hundreds gathered in Mea Shaarim to protest the gay pride parade, though there were no arrests. “Israel is the holy land, not the homo land,” said Ephraim Holtzberg, one of the organizers of the counter-protest, who stressed that people come from all over the world to enjoy Jerusalem’s holiness. “This is a provocation… God made the world this way, they are trying to rewrite Genesis.” He said the haredi community will never forgive former mayor Ehud Olmert for allowing the gay pride parades to start ten years ago. On Thursday morning, police discovered the white “Welcome to Jerusalem” sign had been covered with rainbow paint, most likely in support of the Pride and Tolerance Parade. Police opened an investigation into the incident, and the sign was immediately cleaned. Report to Mod - Link to Post - Back to Top   Logged

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