Article from this evening's Jerusalem Post about today's demonstration

Gay activists hold J'lem protest vigil


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Etgar Lefkovits, THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 10, 2006

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Defying a police veto, a group of 200 gay pride activists held a silent protest vigil in a central Jerusalem park on Thursday, after their long-planned international city parade was canceled due to the war in Lebanon.

The heavily guarded demonstration, which was ignored by the city's haredi community, was allowed to take place after organizers adhered to the police conditions for the gathering, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.

The evening event in the city's Liberty Bell Park was marred after a group of far-left anarchists joined the gathering and began waving placards against the war in Lebanon and shouting slogans against the IDF.

Police forcibly prevented them from approaching the sidewalk on the edge of the park, and detained a protester who unfurled a PLO flag on the scene.

The low-key event, which was one-fifth the size organizers had planned, came near the culmination of six-day World Pride Event in Jerusalem, which was overshadowed by the war in Lebanon and the police decision to bar their planned parade through the streets of Jerusalem.

A huge red banner at the protest read "Jerusalem is for all," while rainbow-colored placards included such slogans as "The Path to God is not always straight" and "Senseless hatred."

"We believe that the holiness of Jerusalem is increased by this city being the center of tolerance and coexistence," said Rabbi Ayelet S. Cohen, 32, who lead a delegation from New York City's Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, which is the world's largest gay and lesbian synagogue.

Cohen added that organizers of the event understood that the tone had to be "appropriate" during wartime when "the voices of tolerance and hope are all the more essential."

Some Israeli motorists shouted at the protesters to go to Lebanon and alternatively to relocate to Palestinian-ruled Gaza.

"At a time when Jewish blood is being spilt in Lebanon, all that these self-indulgent narcissistic selfish perverted people can think about is engaging in sodomy," said New York Rabbi Yehuda Levin, of the Orthodox 'Rabbinical Alliance of America' and the 'Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the US and Canada' who has been spearheading an international campaign against the parade.

Levin, who was prevented from police from entering the park grounds due to concerns of a violent confrontation, slammed police for "wimping out like French poodles" in not stopping the gathering.

The Jerusalem police spokesman noted that the event was not dispersed since protesters did not file out into the streets, block traffic or use megaphones.

The controversial parade, which was to have been the highlight of a week-long international gay festival in the capital, was nixed last month after police said they were unable to allocate sufficient forces needed to secure such a major event due to the war against Hizbullah in Lebanon.

The international gay festival, which was originally scheduled to take place last year and had already been postponed until August due to last summer's Gaza pullout, has been widely criticized by a coterie of Jewish Christian and Muslim religious leaders in Jerusalem and around the world as a deliberate affront and provocation to millions of believers around the world.

In a largely conservative city, with a strong religious and traditional makeup, the idea of holding such an international parade in Jerusalem is seen by many city residents -- even outside of religious circles -- as out of touch with both the spiritual character of the city as well as the sensitivities of its observant residents.

A public opinion poll released last year found that three-quarters of Jerusalem residents were opposed to holding the international gay event in the city, while only a quarter supported it.