Booman Tribune

Israeli Ministers Support Ban on Gay Pride Parade

by Londonbear
Tue Jun 5th, 2007 at 08:32:51 PM EST

The religious right in Israel are promoting a bill in the Knesset that would   amend the country's basic law to include "the Jerusalem municipality is authorized to bar parades and processions on the grounds that they disturb public order, offend the public's sentiments or on religious grounds."

This is intended to enable the banning of the annual Gay Pride March which is the subject of a concerted hate campaign. The wording of course would enable any protest over matter of controversy to be banned, including the mass protests over the Prime Minister's performance in the Lebanon War.

On Sunday, the bill passed its first hurdle when a committee of ministers approved it. It will now go to the Knesset for consideration. Haaretz speculates that:


    The bill's approval by the committee could indicate that the (ruling) coalition will vote for it. Kadima Ministers Jacob Edery and Gideon Ezra both supported the bill, as did Tourism Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch (Yisrael Beiteinu).

The legislation is being promoted by Knesset Member Eliahu Gabbay of the National Religious Party. Previous rulings by the country's High Court have been against local municipalities being able to make decisions on religious matters however the bill changes the Basic Law so (from Haaretz)


    As such, it is very doubtful that the High Court of Justice could overturn it. In fact, the High Court has never canceled a Basic Law. The Court would intervene and quash such a law only after becoming convinced that it constitutes a threat to democracy

Clearly Haaretz believes that the High Court would not consider that the banning of peaceful protests or demonstrations on religious grounds would constitute a threat to democracy.

Last year when Jerusalem was due to hold the World Pride event, the full range of religious force was imposed to stop it. The Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar wrote to the Pope to enlist his help.


    "We were shocked to hear of plans to hold the world Pride Parade in the Holy City," rabbi Amar wrote, "The city which the entire world looks up to due to its holiness and glory, is now being attacked by evil people who wish to violate its honor and humiliate its greatness with deeds that theTorah despises, as well as all other religions. There is no need to elaborate about their plans and evil actions that bring humanity's dignity to the ground"

Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger spoke at a religious meeting in Moscow.

    Metzger said: "As everyone knows, Jerusalem is the cradle in which the three monotheistic religions spouted. We have to unite to preserve its historical holiness and the values of purity and morality which characterize it."

Ynet report for above two quotes.

Yehuda Levin, a member of the Rabbinical Alliance of America went to Israel with the mission to stop the event. He told World Net Daily"Israel is the Holy Land, not the homo-land,". WND gave some more examples of this bigot's views:


    Like some other rabbis here, Levin believes that there is a direct correlation between the homosexual parade scheduled to take place in Jerusalem and the recent onslaught of rockets raining from Lebanon and Gaza.

    Citing Leviticus [18:22-28], Levin said the Torah relates to Israel' current conflict.

    Leviticus states, "You shall not lie down with a male, as with a woman: this is an abomination. For the nations, whom I am sending away from before you, have defiled themselves with all these things. And the land became defiled, and I visited its sin upon it, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. ... For the people of the land who preceded you, did all of these abominations, and the land became defiled. And let the land not vomit you out for having defiled it, as it vomited out the nation that preceded you.'"

    Said Levin, "The terrorists, the leaders of Israel's enemies are working for the destruction of Israel, to wipe the Jewish people off the map."

    Levin believes their efforts are succeeding due to what he calls sexual promiscuity in the land of Israel.


So it's not Hamas or Hezbollah that was responsible for last year's wars, it was the homos. That was actually quite ironic as the objections to the march came from Christian and Muslim clerics too. The planned event was cancelled but not after violence involving the fire bombing of synagogues. (In 2005  an ultra-orthodox young man wounded three parade participants with a kitchen knife at a lower key event.) Later in 2006 a fixed rally took the place of the march.

Already this year, in April a bomb exploded injuring a worker, believed to be the work of the same ultra-orthodox groups who rioted in Jerusalem last year.


    Unknown persons detonated a medium-sized explosive device near a peaceful vineyard by the Israeli town of Beit Shemesh early Friday morning.

    The bomb's location ran close to the path of the security fence being built just south of the town, near the Beit Jamal monastery, and a civilian tractor driver working at the construction site was lightly wounded in the explosion. An emergency medical team evacuated the man to the Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital in Jerusalem.

    Security forces investigating the scene later reported that they had uncovered leaflets at the scene of the crime which apparently call for the cancellation of the upcoming gay pride parade, set to be held in Jerusalem in late June.


Ynet

The way the law is framed, the Jerusalem authorities could ban the Gay Pride march but it is not clear whether it would also be used to stop the protest marches by the haredim which last year ended in  violence and police injuries.



Display:
Homophobia continues to be a sickness the world over with the same tired excuse of bigotry blamed on so called religious/moral grounds. Homophobia is bad enough but it's doubly so when any religion blames God for their bigotry.

'Poverty is the worst form of violence'--Gandhi
by chocolate ink on Tue Jun 5th, 2007 at 08:58:08 PM EST
what do you have to say about Ken Livingstone's support for the famously homophobic Yusuf al-Qaradawi?

In plain English, is your interest defending gay rights (in which I take a strong interest), or bashing Israel with whatever comes to hand?

"Ken Livingstone has sided with male Muslim misogynists and homophobes against women and gay Londoners," said human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell of OutRage! who was one of a group of protestors outside London's City Hall this morning, 12 July 2004.

According to the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association,

In his own words, Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi supports:

  • The killing of homosexuals to keep society pure

  • The killing of apostates - those who have rejected Islam

  • The killing of all Israelis - including civilians

  • The mutilation of women's genitals


"`Our country, right or wrong!' . . . when right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right." (Sen. Carl Schurz)
by one of the people on Wed Jun 6th, 2007 at 11:31:53 AM EST
simple, as it covers two aspects


 London Mayor issues appeal for end to Pride ban after arrests and violence in Moscow
28-5-2007   320

Following yesterday's violence against lesbian and gay rights demonstrators in Moscow, and the arrest of several of the demonstrators, Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has this morning written to his Moscow counterpart Mayor Luzhkov urging that no charges be brought against those who were demonstrating for lesbian and gay rights.

His letter asks Mayor Luzhkov to 'resolve the root cause of this protest by lifting the ban on the Gay Pride parade in Moscow in line with the practice of most cities throughout the world'.

Below is the letter from Mr Livingstone to Mr Luzhkov:

Dear Mayor Luzhkov,

I am writing to convey my deep concern at the reported physical violence against, and arrest of, Peter Tatchell, a Parliamentary candidate for the Green Party in Britain, and other supporters of lesbian and gay rights, during their participation in an event in Moscow seeking to present a petition to you to lift a ban on the Gay Pride parade in Moscow.

I have known Peter Tatchell for many years and know him to be a person committed exclusively to peaceful political activity.

I would urge you to use your good offices to seek the lifting of all charges against Mr Tatchell and his fellow demonstrators.
I would also urge you to resolve the root cause of this protest by lifting the ban on the Gay Pride parade in Moscow in line with the practice of most cities throughout the world.

Yours sincerely,

Ken Livingstone


http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=12110
by Londonbear (bearATzooDOTcoDOTuk) on Wed Jun 6th, 2007 at 12:20:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I suggest you also read the detail rebuttal and report Livingstone issued regarding the visit which explains how much of the campaign was orchestrated by the Rupert Murdoch owned rag The Sun.

I happen to agree with this statement by him from it;


As Mayor of London, I regard it as my
responsibility to welcome a leader of any
great religion, such as Dr al-Qaradawi. I
would welcome any leader of any other great
world religion of similar standing,
notwithstanding the obvious fact that we
disagree on particular issues.

This no more constituted endorsement of the
views of Dr al-Qaradawi on an issue such as
lesbian and gay rights, than my meetings with
Roman Catholic Cardinals meant I shared their
views on contraception or my meeting the
Chief Rabbi suggested I shared his view in
opposing the repeal of Section 28.

Before you start to accuse Livingstone (who, many years ago as the Leader of the GLC, included sexual orientation in the equal opportunities policy and extended pension rights to the unmarried dependent partners - gay or straight - of employees who died while working for it) you might like to consider who else al-Qaradawi has met.

There is no case for refusing a dialogue with Qaradawi on these grounds. Indeed, former
United States President Bill Clinton, former US ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke, the French foreign minister and the Italian foreign minister are among those who, like me, have held talks or shared platforms with Qaradawi.

.pdf report

by Londonbear (bearATzooDOTcoDOTuk) on Wed Jun 6th, 2007 at 12:49:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]


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