An image of Pride 2003 in Jerusalem
In the end the logic of war has once again prevailed and the World Gay Pride scheduled for November 10 has been postponed again. Yesterday's attack by the Israeli army in Beit Hanoun, resulting in the killing of 19 Palestinians, has once again heated up the atmosphere in Israel and prompted organizers to cancel the event for the third time, replacing it with a permanent indoor demonstration.
The demonstration It was already scheduled for August 2005. It would have been the second time a global Pride had taken place, after the first World Pride in 2000, which had seen hundreds of thousands of people march in Rome. But the eviction of settlers from the Gaza Strip and the consequent absorption of all law enforcement forces had led to the refusal of authorization. A Gay Pride in Jerusalem, albeit on a local scale, had then been held anyway in June, despite violent protests by far-right forces and religious fundamentalist organizations. In reality, the ban had been based on another fact: a appeal signed by representatives of the different religions present in Jerusalem: the two chief rabbis of Israel, the three Christian patriarchs – the Latin Catholic, Armenian and Greek Orthodox – and two Muslim sheikhs.
'The event had been postponed to August 2006. At the time, there had been considerable controversy within the international gay movement over the possibility of holding a Pride parade in a country engaged in a bitter war like the one against Hezbollah. But on that occasion, too, the combination of religious protests and the difficult situation created by the war had led to the Pride parade's cancellation.
Today the news of the third cancellation. Or, worse, of the downsizing to a demonstration type ""Indian reservation"", closed behind the walls of the stadium of the University of Jerusalem. Perhaps, the same will also be skipped. ""parade of the beasts"", the counter-demonstration planned by the ultra-Orthodox community that had raised the indignation of animal rights associations due to the organizers' expressed intention to bring donkeys, cows, and horses into the square. In reality, alongside this colorful initiative, the ultra-Orthodox Jews had carried out much more violent actions, with clashes with the police and dumpster fires. A scenario already seen in recent months in Eastern Europe.
Even the Moscow Pride, prevented last May by violence from right-wing extremists and Orthodox fanatics, had seen the re-establishment of an alliance of religious leaders against the human rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people. On that occasion, too, the Vatican nuncio had stepped in to formally request that the political authorities refuse authorization.
The news of these days is the Benedict XVI's entry into the fray In person. It is on behalf of the Pope in Rome, in fact, that the Apostolic Nuncio to Israel asked Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni not to allow the event organized by the Open House association to take place.
In recent days, some religious fundamentalists have been cursing a demonstration that, in their view, is the cause of the country's continuing wars. It would be nice if giving up World Pride helped bring peace to Israel.. But it's a safe bet that the newfound harmony among religious leaders against gay rights will not hold up as solidly when faced with the issue of peace in the Middle East.
