Organizers upbeat on Jerusalem gay march

By · June 16, 2008

Organizers of Jerusalem’s annual gay pride march said they hope for less friction with the city’s religious residents this year.

Jerusalem Open House, a homosexual rights center, announced Monday that this year’s Pride and Tolerance March in the Israeli capital will take place June 26.

Previous marches have seen violent confrontations with religious Jews offended by what they, along with many Muslims and Christians, believe to be parading abomination in the holy city.

Jerusalem Open House said three central roads in Jerusalem have been chosen as the route for the event, but organizers have made efforts to avoid provocations.

“We have met with many public leaders of the haredi and Orthodox communities to promote understanding and especially to prevent unnecessary violence in the city,” Yonatan Gher, the executive director of Jerusalem Open House, said in a statement.

“The Pride and Tolerance March is a test case for democracy and for the ability to accept ‘the other.’ We too will be judged by this test and, with the march demonstrating the respect that the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] community has for all groups that live in our city.”