Thousands in Jerusalem celebrated Pride on Thursday with a mile and a half march to Knesset. While there were protests by some members of the ultra-orthodox community, the event was peaceful.

The city distanced itself from Pindrus’ actions.

He originally intended on greeting Pride-goers with real donkeys and a banner saying “the marchers who do what beasts do,” but police officials shot down his proposal.

Instead, Pindrus had to compromise with cardboard donkeys.

Openly gay Kinesett member Nitan Horowitz condemned Pindrus’ protest: “The words uttered by Pindrus, who gets his salary from the state budget, calling the marchers names such as beasts and donkeys, are incitement which leads to heavy violence. I demand that these types of people show responsibility and understand why such incidents such as the shooting at the Tel Aviv gay youth center occur,” he added.

The Pride event marked the one year anniversary of the Tel Aviv gay youth center shooting that resulted in three deaths and many more injuries.

Israel is more progressive than most nations in terms of gay rights. Same-sex marriages performed in other countries are recognized and employee non-discrimination laws protect workers from discrimination based on their sexual orientations.