Mideast Piece

Some of you might prefer things other than my usual human rights/activism/save-the-world kind of entries, and I understand that. For those of you who just want to see some flesh, I have arranged a full week of Mideast Piece beach shots, one piece for each of the next seven days. Enjoy!

A banner day for Jerusalem

It’s a march! It’s a protest!

Celebrating diversity in Jerusalem!

Ensuring democracy

Family fun - kippot, babies, and lebians!

Thursday’s Jerusalem Parade for Pride and Tolerance was small and mild by any standards; however, for this veteran of Pride events in New York, Montreal and elsewhere, Thursday was something far more meaningful and important than these show-stoppers.

Jerusalem is supposed to stand for the best values of the world’s oldest religions. GLBT individuals demanding rights and visibility one afternoon a year might offend the “religious” sensibilities of many people living here, but that is not the point. Women demanding the vote offended sensibilities at one point, and so did blacks living outside the system of slavery.

Jerusalem’s GLBT community must keep marching until there is no need to march anymore. It must work harder to reframe this event as an equality rally, because there are powerful (read: ultra-Orthodox) forces attempting to portray it as some kind of recruiting event or sex parade.

It took the ancient Hebrews 40 years of wandering and pain in the desert to go from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land. Considering the first shots in the modern struggle for GLBT rights were fired just in the past few decades, we can expect a similar journey. It’s necessary and dangerous, but - for many of us - sitting on the sidelines is out of the question.

Here are some of my photos from Thursday’s event; again, they’re a lot less racy than the Tel Aviv photos earlier in June, but - at least to me - a lot more special.

Below is Adam Russo, who was stabbed by a knife-wielding “yeshiva” student during Jerusalem’s Pride event two years ago.

From Ynet:

Some 400 Tel Aviv policemen train Wednesday for Thursday’s pride parade in Jerusalem, prepare for violence by protestors. Meanwhile, haredim continue to demonstrate against parade across country

Some 400 policemen of the Tel Aviv District police held drills Wednesday ahead of the gay pride parade, scheduled to take place in Jerusalem Thursday. The officers will join the Jerusalem police in securing the parade.

The police are taking very seriously the possibility that disturbances at the event will result in violence, and officers practiced the
use of clubs and shields in case this happens.

Meanwhile, despite an official notice published by the rabbis of the United Torah Judaism Tuesday calling on haredim not to demonstrate against the parade, violent protests ensued across Israel. Police arrested 12 haredim in Bnei Brak, including eight teens, for hurling stones at cars during the night. Two of them were later released.

Disturbances also took place at strictly-Orthodox neighborhoods in the capital, including Givat Shaul, Meah Shearim, Beit Yisrael and Bait Vagan. The Jerusalem police arrested seven people on suspicion of throwing stones and clashing with officers. Four policemen were injured in the incidents; three of them were evacuated to the hospital.