Israeli Rabbis cannot promise gay pride peace
Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem are threatening to strike a gay pride parade scheduled to take place in Jerusalem in two weeks, prompting police to re-evaluate the permit issued to parade organisers.
Ynet News reports that most recently, Jerusalem Police Chief Ilan Franko met with orthodox leader Yitzhak Tuvia Weiss.
According to Ynet News, Franko asked to learn about the stance of ultra-orthodox rabbis, known as Haredim, who declared their intent of a ‘Million Man Protest’ against the parade.
Police did not release details of the meeting.
A source close to the rabbi told Ynet News that Weiss told Franko that he cannot promise the police chief that there won’t be Haredi violence at the march.
“The rabbi declared there’d be a war over this, that we couldn’t stay silent about it. We cannot give up or compromise about this.”
Supporters of the parade counter that freedom of speech enables them to hold the event in Jerusalem, as a symbol of tolerance and pluralism, even if theirs is the view of the minority of residents in the city, reports the Jerusalem Post.
The local organisers of the event, still smarting over having to cancel two international parades in the city in as many years, have appealed to the High Court of Justice to force police to approve the local event.
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