Jerusalem municipality bars annual gay pride parade

[Scurrilous]

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/591601.html

<snip>

"Jerusalem City Hall announced Thursday it would not allow the planned annual gay pride parade to go ahead next week, saying the march would offend many of the holy city's residents and set off unrest.

Organizers of the parade appealed to the courts to repeal the ruling, saying the decision was a violation of the homosexual community's freedom of expression.

The city council, including the mayor, decided "it is not right to allow the march or other planned activities to take place in the streets of Jerusalem, fearing that it will create an uproar, offend a wide sector of city residents and out of fear of public disturbances," said Eitan Meir, Director-General of City Hall in a letter to organizers."

<snip>

"The march scheduled for next Thursday was to be the fourth annual parade. Previous events have passed peacefully, attended by several thousand people and with only minor incidents of vandalism and protest. However, they took place under heavy security."

[pie]

1. Why the shift in sentiment toward gays?

[Scurrilous]

3. "Officials at City Hall...

... refused to explain the change in policy."


Gay pride, Jerusalem shame?

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3102968,00.html

Jerusalem gays to sue municipality, says decision to ban pride parade 'discriminatory'; El-Ad: sure mayor would host festival at city hall

<snip>

"A Jerusalem-based homosexual-lesbian organization has announced it will sue the Jerusalem municipality to allow a Gay Pride Parade to proceed as planned on June 30.

Responding to an official notice signed by city hall director-general Eitan Mayer, Jerusalem Open House director Hagai El-Ad denounced the city’s “discriminatory policy” and said the issue at hand related to democratic values.

El-Ad also promised the pride events would take place as scheduled.

“The events will take place as planned. The march’s route has already been authorized by the district police,” the Open House said.

The incident is the latest in a string of clashes between Jerusalem's homosexual community and its ultra-Orthodox mayor. Recently, Open House agreed to postpone the International Gay Pride March because of security issues stemming from the events proximity to the Gaza disengagement program."

[Behind the Aegis]

2. must appease the uber-religious nutballs!

A majority of Jerusalem's more than 600,000 residents are either Orthodox Jews or Muslim or Christian Palestinians, conservative communities that oppose homosexuality.

Just like this country, the rights of the religious, trump all others.