Last update - 00:00 03/06/2007
Jerusalem police approve Gay Pride event in city later in month
By Haaretz Staff and Reuters
Israel Police on Sunday gave approval for a Gay Pride event in Jerusalem later this month, setting up a possibly violent confrontation between gay activists and ultra-Orthodox Jews.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the event will take place June 21, but it was not determined whether it will be a march. There will be some kind of an event, he said, either a parade or a gathering.
Opponents of the Gay Pride event have already vowed to resist, saying open displays of homosexuality have no place in the city that is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims.
Last week, ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders, who oppose the event, warned the Jerusalem police that they would not tolerate another gay pride event in the city.
Last year, Haredi Jews rioted for more than a week after police approved a march in the center of the city. In the end, police confined the event to a soccer stadium to prevent clashes.
An earlier march in Jerusalem resulted in violence when a protester stabbed three of the marchers in downtown Jerusalem.
The annual Gay Pride march in Tel Aviv usually proceeds without incident, and has mass support. The municipality shows its support for the event by flying rainbow flags throughout the city.