Jerusalem mayor skips gay pride march amid religious concern

Jerusalem’s mayor says he will forgo the city’s annual gay pride parade because it is offensive to religious residents.

Nir Barkat says in an interview published Wednesday that the gay community has the right to march but that the pride event is also “troublesome” to others in the city.

Thursday’s march will be heavily secured after an extremist ultra-Orthodox Jew stabbed revelers at last year’s parade, killing a 16-year-old girl and wounding seven people.

The man, Yishai Schlissel, had been released weeks earlier, after serving a sentence for stabbing several people at the 2005 pride parade.

Rich in religious history and tradition, Jerusalem holds a modest gay pride parade annually, in contrast to the raucous event in the liberal city of Tel Aviv, which this year drew some 200,000 people.

Boogie The Bridge

Boogie The Bridge Event Information

Apr 19, 2024

Question of the Week

Is 'Canada's Tournament Capital' an accurate description of Kamloops?

13h ago

1000 Ways to Heal

1000 Ways to Heal: Vulnerability

13h ago

The Associated Press