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WATCH: U.S. gay Jews rally in solidarity with T.A. shooting victims
By Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: gay, Jewish World 

Members of Washington, D.C.'s gay Jewish community gathered in the city on Monday to express solidarity with the victims of the Tel Aviv gay center shooting last Saturday.

The protesters carried banners that read "homophobia is not part of the Torah," "Jewish, out & proud," "prejudice against one is prejudice against all." They lit memory candles and sang songs in Hebrew. Gay rabbis addressed the crowd and shared their experience of being homosexual and religious.

Josh Rosenthal, a gay Jewish activist who organized the rally, said the response from Jewish institutions was immediate.
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"I just hope that this kind of energy makes it to Israel," he said. "It was particularly harmful that a Jew is shooting another Jews in Israel for the simple reason that they are gay."

Andy Marcus, a Washington lawyer, was wearing a T-shirt bearing a big Star of David. He said that he was devastated by the news of the shooting.

"Things are getting better but you scratch the surface and there is still a lot of hatred," he said. "When I hear what people like [Shas leader] Eli Yishai say, I cringe. People say rubbish and incite to violence, and back it up with quotes from the Torah. It only proves words are potentially harmful."

"We have the annual gay pride parade in Washington, but I've never seen anything like this," Marcus said about the spontaneous expression of sympathy.

Rabbi Toby Manewith, leader of the gay congregation Beit Mishpacha, said she hoped the rally would send the victims a positive message.

"In some way we are used to hear of violence in Israel, but someone did it in a place where they wanted to be safe," she said. "It's the opposite of what you expect from Jewish community."

The Orthodox rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld said that the killer desecrated God's name.

"It is an attack upon all those who believe, as I do, that the Land of Israel should be a homeland for all Jews," he said.

Beit Mishpacha has 240 registered members, who come from both Orthodox and Reform background. Some of them, Rabbi Manewith said, have not come out.

Same sex marriages are illegal in the American capital, though they are recognized if the couple was registered as married elsewhere.

Related articles:
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  • Livni to gay Israelis: Don't let hate crime stop you living your lives
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