Ultra-Orthodox Jews Will Not Protest Jerusalem Gay Pride ’08, but politicians will

[Ian David]

Ultra-Orthodox Jews Will Not Protest Jerusalem Gay Pride ’08
by Kilian Melloy
EDGE Contributor
Tuesday Jun 17, 2008

In contrast to previous years, Ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders have decided that they will not protest this year’s Pride Parade in Jerusalem, scheduled for June 26.

Citing concerns that exposing their young men to the Pride parade would prove harmful to them even by protesting it, conservative Jewish leaders in the Edah Haredit, which comprises some of Israel’s most ardent fundamentalist rabbis, have said that they will refrain from the sorts of protests that have led, in previous years, to injured police officers and streets blocked by burning tires and other refuse, reported The Jerusalem Post in a June 15 story.

The annual Pride march has been a source of sometimes-violent friction in recent years, with the zealously anti-gay religious Ultra-Orthodox clashing with police and marchers.

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While the Ultra-orthodox say they intend to stay away from the parade and not to mount protests, the politicians have said that they will step into the gap, with plans to gather in ten places around Jerusalem on June 26 to demonstrate in protest of the Pride event.

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