Hate crime centre named in memory of girl stabbed to death at Pride
A hate crime centre has been dedicated to the memory of murdered Israeli teen Shira Banki, who was stabbed to death at a Pride event.
16-year-old Shira Banki was killed and five others were wounded last July, after an ultra-Orthadox Jewish man Yishai Schlissel went on a stabbing spree during Jerusalem’s Pride parade last year.
Schlissel, who had just been released from prison over a previous attack on the very same parade, was jailed for life plus 31 years for the attack.
Banki’s parents have continued to campaign in her memory.
This week, the Jerusalem Post reports that a dedicated hate crime centre is opening in her memory
According to the outlet, the centre – which is the first in Israel dedicated to helping people struggling with hate crime issues – will open at IDC’s Radzyner Law School in Herzliya.
The site, opened in cooperation with the Berel Katznelson Fund, will be named after Ms Banki.
It will work to provide “free legal advice and assistance to individual victims of hate and incitement crimes on the Internet and among the public.”
The Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat snubbed this year’s Pride event – including a memorial for Banki – claiming he didn’t want to “offend” people opposed to LGBT equality.
He said: “Tolerance is not just letting people march; it’s also looking for the way to get what you want without offending others opinions, or others feelings.
“In Jerusalem, there’s a large population who has a really hard time with the parade. I don’t want to harm that [religious] population.
“As mayor, I represent everyone, and therefore I’m on the side of the heads of the community and their rights, and I’ll do everything to facilitate their realising them.”
