Nearly 3,000 officers shielded the route after a week marked by verbal attacks by the ultra-Orthodox, who recall Sodom in their messages
In less than a week, Jerusalem changed the white and blue of the Israeli flag for the rainbow of LGBTQ pride. On Sunday, the ultra-nationalist sectors staged the controversial March of the Flags in the Old City and this Thursday, four days later, thousands of gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer people marched through the western part of the holy city to demand equality and tolerance. 2,800 security guards shielded the route. The event was twenty years old and was held after a week marked by death threats against the organizers.
The same ultranationalists who took over the Muslim quarter of the old city on Sunday staged a counter-protest that heard slogans such as “Jerusalem is not Sodom” or “no to LGBTQ terror.” In the 2015 edition, an ultra-Orthodox Jew stabbed young Shira Banki to death in the middle of the route, and since then every Pride march has been conducted under massive security measures. That same week, the city of Netivot suspended its march because organizers and activists received bullets in their mailboxes.
Those in Jerusalem saw an unusual presence of officials, something unusual in the era of conservative leader Benjamin Netanyahu. For the first time since this day is celebrated in the holy city, Speaker of Parliament Mickey Levy took part and spoke for the participants. So did ministers such as Transport Minister Merav Michaeli, who assured that “all people deserve to be loved, regardless of their gender or who they love.”
The march was a celebration of colours, music, slogans and dances. For Spanish student Ivan Toyos it was his first experience on this day in Jerusalem and he saw “a very demanding, very familiar atmosphere”. All entrances to the route were fenced and there were only very specific entry points where the police registered and marked each participant with a blue armband.
While the Jewish part of Jerusalem celebrated Pride Day, in the occupied territories they experienced another day of funerals. Israeli forces have killed four Palestinians in the past 48 hours, the last two being Odeh Saqa, 17, who was shot in the chest in Al-Midya and Ayman Mheisen, 29, also shot, but in Bethlehem. Both took part in protests and were “executed on the orders of Prime Minister Naftali Bennet”, according to Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh.
Source: La Verdad
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