10,000 March In “Subdued” Jerusalem Pride Parade

Reuters reports:

Jerusalem on Thursday held its annual gay pride parade under heavy security and with a subdued vibe, given the solemn mood in Israel after months of war.

LGBTQ+ supporters marched the streets of Jerusalem carrying rainbow flags, Israeli flags and yellow ribbons, a symbol for hostages still held in Gaza.

Absent were the vibrant cheers and music that usually accompany the event. Organizers estimated that 10,000 people marched. Police said some 2,000 officers were on guard.

Agence France-Presse reports:

A sizeable contingent in the parade marched against the war in Gaza. All dressed in black, they held banners featuring slogans such as “No Pride in War”, “There are Gay people in Gaza”, and “Killing other Queers won’t stop the Pinkwashing Machine”.

The last was a reference to LGBTQ complaints that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government presents itself as a defender of LGBTQ rights in the Middle East, while relying on the votes of far-right and religious lawmakers accused of homophobia.

“I think it’s important to tear off the mask of this government that is trying to pinkwash its war crimes with the achievements of the LGBTQ struggle that was conducted against them”, 38-year-old Yasha Marmer told AFP.

Last year’s march drew three times as many participants. Yesterday’s event was met by the usual contingent of haters who waved signs from behind barricades.

In 2015, an ultra-Orthodox man went on a stabbing spree in the midst of the marchers, wounding five and killing a 16-year old girl.

Only weeks out of prison for having stabbed three Pride marchers in 2005, he was sentenced to life plus 31 years.

Shortly after his second imprisonment, he was severely beaten by another prisoner for tearing up photos of the man’s “immodestly dressed” daughters.

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