Public outcry against homosexual parade in Jerusalem is increasing

Arutz Sheva News Service - http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
Sunday, October 29, 2006, 7 Cheshvan 5767
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The Knesset Interior Committee will hold a session on Monday to debate the Homosexual Parade scheduled for Nov. 10 in Jerusalem. Public outcry against the march is increasing.

Participating in the committee session will be representatives of the Public Security Ministry (which oversees the police), the Religious Affairs ministerial office, the Justice Ministry, the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Municipalities, the Vatican mission in Israel, religious figures, civil rights figures, the Jerusalem Open House which is sponsoring the march, and others.

The session will take place at 1 PM in the Knesset's Lectures Room, and will be broadcast nationally on Channel 99, the Knesset channel.

The European Pride Organizers Association (EPOA), in its annual meeting in Madrid earlier this month, voted not to hold the 2009 World Pride event in Tel Aviv, but rather in Zurich, Switzlerand. One of the two main reasons Tel Aviv was not chosen, sources close to the vote said, was the previous cancellation of other pride parades in Israel.

Protests Escalate
Armed with this encouragement, opponents of the parade continue their efforts to make sure the upcoming parade is canceled as well. Many thousands of protestors are expected to express their opposition during the parade, hoping that the police will see the dangers inherent in the likely clash and will call off the march.

Jerusalem City Councilwoman Mina Fenton, one of the leaders in the struggle against the parade, recently wrote to Jerusalem Police Chief Ilan Franco, saying:

"The chosen date for the march - the 66th anniversary of Kristallnacht in Germany and the date that symbolizes the beginning of the Holocaust against the Jewish Nation - is a miserable choice, and has aroused great anger among Holocaust survivors... In addition, as the date comes closer, so do the voices of opposition and unrest increase. In my meetings with Sheikh Abdel Salim from Nazareth, he admonished me and said that the Jews are to blame for bringing decadent Western culture to the area - thus negatively influencing Muslim Arabs and neighboring Arab countries - and the result is this Gay Pride March. The Sheikh told the Knesset Interior Committee on July 4, 2006, 'Just like G-d destroyed Sodom, he can also destroy Jerusalem, including all the Moslems, Christians and Jews.'"

Fenton concluded, "The parade must be canceled outright. Any day that will chosen for this parade will be dangerous to the public, a catastrophe for the Jewish Nation, and a disgrace to the Muslim and Christian religions."

Jerusalem Police Chief Ilan Franco can be faxed at 02-539 1466, and Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky can be faxed at 02-629-6014. From abroad, replace the initial 0 with international access code and 972.