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Loading ...Jerusalem hosts subdued gay pride march
07.29.2010 6:00pm EDT
Jerusalem– Thousands of Israelis marched calmly Thursday in Jerusalem’s longest gay pride parade despite opposition from anti-gay demonstrators.
The subdued Jerusalem march from the center of town to the parliament building contrasted with flamboyant gay pride parades elsewhere in the world. Organizers said they were adjusting to the religious character of the city and using their march to promote their political agenda.
Carrying rainbow banners, several thousand demonstrators walked along the 1.5 mile (2.5 kilometer) route. A few dozen black-suited ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters at the beginning and end of the route held signs denouncing homosexuals, with slogans like “Gay Play in Hell, Not Jerusalem.” Many ultra-Orthodox Jews consider homosexuality an abomination.
Marchers said such opposition has forced the gay community of Jerusalem underground in most parts of the city.
“In a religious society, a lot of people still don’t realize we actually exist,” said Sarah Weil, 26, who helps run an organization for lesbians who are also Orthodox Jews.
The march marked the one-year anniversary of a shooting attack at a Tel Aviv gay youth center that killed two.
“This is first of all a march of mourning,” said organizer Yonatan Gher, “and at the end we will try to put the mourning behind us and look forward to the coming year, and declare tonight the beginning of gay rights year.”
Thousands of Israeli police guarded the marchers.
The Jerusalem parade has been marred by violence in the past. In 2005, an Orthodox Jewish protester stabbed three marchers. Organizers said the fear of attack still keeps many people at home.
But parade participants say there are signs the climate in Jerusalem is changing.
“I don’t think it’s dangerous anymore,” said Yair Lieberman, 23. “But even if there’s danger, that shouldn’t stop us from walking.”
There is hope for the Holy City after all.
Isn’t it amazing that the jewish bibile thumpers compare gays to Animals.
Wasn’t that about the same as Hitler did with the orthodox asses close relatives, who shared the ovens with Germany’s gays.
In time. someday. the age of religion will be seen as a second dark ages. While there are many good religions, including reform Judaism, in general religion has been the curse of humanity.
Or has it been Gods’ testing ground for where you might go in the next world, if there is one.
ps I am nominally Jewish, my wife is jewish, my daughter is UU, a son is aethist, and the older boy goes with his wife to the temple.
Religion is like a knife. Some people use a knife to prepare food for people to eat. Bad people can use a knife to stab and rob people. If there is a God he/she will be judging people on how they interpreted and used the religion they were exposed to.
To hell with religion. All hail hypnotoad!!!
jlachett
I don’t have that kind of disrespectful attitude toward atheism. Each person is on their own individual journey in life and not all journeys follow the same path.
I say let’s turn the knife of religion in for the… well, let’s just turn it in for reason. It cuts more cleanly and accurately even though the grip might not be as comfortable, and is much harder to use violently.
Knife of religion meets Occam’s Razor, I guess.
Morgan
Personally, I think Dave W. goes a too far in calling religious people stupid. There’s stating your opinion, but there’s also using diplomacy to try make it more communicable.
However; now that I am an atheist I understand why we so often end up acting angry and rude.
For me, it was like trying to fit a square peg in the dark. I fumbled around for a while and got the peg into a bunch of holes that didn’t quite fit upon closer examination, and so I kept looking. Then one day I felt the peg sliding into place. I wasn’t sure at first, but then – Boom – it slid all the way in and locked in tight. Perfect fit, no question. Then the lights turned on. I could see my peg but I could also see all the other holes that people were trying to fit their pegs into.
From an atheist’s perspective, we’re standing there in full daylight watching everyone else try to fit their pegs into holes that we can see don’t fit, but they don’t listen to us because they don’t even understand what seeing is.
In that situation it is all too easy to lose patience.
Well I’m the cooking kind and I’d prefer to use my knife in the kitchen and not contaminate it with any kind of negative energy. It’ll mess with the soup.
What disturbs me most about these types of protesters is there is such a history of persecution of them yet they have so little regard for that history and continue to persecute those that are different from them based on the hate aspect of their religion.
Well taken, Wilson.
That is a good point. We sooner or later find out where we fit in even if we have to fumble at first to find where we fit as individual human beings. Pegs and holes being a good analogy. There is no “one peg fits all holes” or “one size fits all” when it comes to how one determines where one needs to be in life.