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Wednesday June 20, 2007
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Gay Pride Set for Jerusalem Tomorrow; Religious Leaders Urge Prayerful Opposition Not Violence
By John Jalsevac
JERUSALEM, Israel, June 20, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - As tension in the Holy City increases, with thousands of homosexual demonstrators set to march through the streets of the city held sacred by the world's three major monotheistic religions, religious leaders are encouraging their followers to oppose the homosexual event peacefully, and primarily with prayer.
A number of leading Rabbis have jointly issued a statement against participation in the "protests and similar events" that are taking place in Jerusalem, some of which have turned violent, reports Arutz Sheva, an Israeli news source.
"We again warn regarding the gathering of youngsters in the streets of Bnei Brak for protests and similar events," the rabbis wrote, "and we hereby present our position, the position of Torah, that the Sages are not pleased with these gatherings, and whoever studies Torah should guard himself and stay away from them."
The rabbis continued, saying that the organizers of some of the counter-demonstrations "do not have fear of G-d opposite them, and joining up with them is a spiritual danger... A significant number of them are not yeshiva students, but youngsters from other towns who are looking for an excuse to go wild, burn trash bins and destroy public property... Our strength is in our mouths, in prayer to G-d that He will bring down a spirit of purity to enable us to serve Him truly."
Nevertheless, at the same time as the homosexual parade is scheduled to take place, a counter-demonstration is also scheduled in another part of the city. Over the last week numerous spontaneous protests have occurred throughout the city, while on Sunday a scheduled Haredi protest attracted some 10,000 participants.
7,000 Israeli police will be deployed to provide security for the homosexual event tomorrow which will snake through some of Jerusalem's main streets, starting at the intersection of Hess and King David streets in Jerusalem and continuing towards Liberty Bell Park.
While Jerusalem police technically have the power to cancel the homosexual demonstration, even at the last minute, as occurred last year, thus far no hint has come from the police that any such action will occur.
Flyers have been distributed across the city both calling on Jerusalem to participate in the pro-homosexual parade and to join in the protests against it.
"…Let us come with our masses to this great, peaceful, dignified and democratic march and defy the minority inciting us to violence," said one flyer supporting the parade. "Hatred is a dangerous, infectious disease. Let us all prove that Judaism does not mean fascism and bloodshed."
An opposing poster, however, asks participants to help physically, but peacefully block the homosexual parade. According to Arutz Sheva the posters read, "At 5 PM, we will stand at the corner of Agron and King David Streets, and along the way up to Liberty Bell Park, and we will block the march of disgrace with our bodies. There is no need to lift a hand, no need to yell or condemn. We will stand quietly and with a prayer to the G-d of Israel, and we will not move until the organizers of the march and the police understand that the march cannot happen and they will disperse to their homes. We call upon the people for whom Jerusalem is precious to take part."
Last year's "Pride Parade" was cancelled due to widespread protests. Instead the event was confined to a sports stadium.
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