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Homosexuals Say They’ll Ignore No-Protest Order in Jerusalem 8/10/2006 Police forbid ‘gay’ activists from assembling, but organizers say they will carry on as planned. Despite a police order, homosexual activists still plan to protest in Jerusalem’s Liberty Bell Park this evening. Jerusalem police announced early yesterday that they would prohibit the event, called “Protest Against Hatred,” because they are afraid it will lead to violence, The Jerusalem Post reports.
The protest was planned to highlight the city’s cancellation of the parade that was to be the climax of this week’s WorldPride celebration (August 6-12). Police barred the protest after organizers refused to limit the number of demonstrators or promise to contain the protest to an allotted spot.
"There is no legal basis to the police decision as such an event, which is not a demonstration, does not require a license," Hagai El-Ad, executive director of Jerusalem's Gay and Lesbian center, which is hosting the event, told The Jerusalem Post. A police representative told the Post that police have the right to place conditions on events in order to maintain civic order.
According to a YNet daily report, two of the event’s organizers, Hagai El-Ad and Noa Sattath, said, “The struggle for human right (sic), equality and a sane Jerusalem is critical. We call upon anyone who identifies with these values to take part in the watch. …We decided to conduct the protest watch in order to say to instigators who oppose us that we will not break, not be silent, and we will fight against the dirty waves of hatred, incitement, and prejudice.”
The WorldPride event has drawn few international visitors. Israel is in the midst of a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, with missiles falling in northern Israel on a daily basis. Although the parade was cancelled, other events, including a “gay” film festival and seminars, have been held in Jerusalem. Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders have spoken against the event, urging cancellation of all aspects.
Rabbi Yehuda Levin, who is in Israel on a special mission representing Jews for Morality and the Orthodox Rabbinical Alliance of America, told CWA on Wednesday that he urges American Christians to contact Israeli officials, either in Jerusalem or at the embassy in Washington, and ask them to convey their desire that the law be upheld and the illegal protest be barred.
“It’s of utmost importance that Christians let their voices be heard,” Levin said. “I can’t stress how much this would mean.”
Contact Information:
Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.
(202) 364-5500
Israeli Foreign Affairs (Jerusalem)
011-972-2-5303111
Molly Hamrick graduated recently from Bryan College with a degree in Political Communications, and is an intern for Culture & Family Institute in the Ronald Reagan Memorial Internship Program at CWA.
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