By Gudrun Schultz
JERUSALEM, Israel, August 30, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The battle over homosexual demonstrations in Jerusalem took yet another turn yesterday, as city police announced they would not permit a Gay Pride parade to take place in Jerusalem on September 21.
Parade organizers Open House for Pride and Tolerance announced the new date for the homosexual demonstration on Monday, after the parade was cancelled in August due to the violence between Israel and Lebanon.
Jerusalem police refused to grant permission for the parade, saying the date chosen by Open House was too close to the Jerusalem New Year, Ynet News reported yesterday. September 23 marks the beginning of the Jewish holy days of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Succot, observed during the end of September and the beginning of October.
The police said they would consider permitting the parade if organizers would submit other dates for the event.
Open House organizers admitted to Ynet News that they had deliberately targeted the Jewish holy days when rescheduling the parade. The organization has threatened to petition the court for permission to hold the event as planned, and said if denied official authorization they will hold the parade anyway, in defiance of the courts and the police.
Plans to hold the controversial event so close to the Jewish New Year had offended leaders in the Jewish community, who saw the choice as a deliberate affront to faithful Jews in the city.
Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders in Israel and worldwide battled for over a year to prevent World Pride organizers from staging the international homosexual event within a city seen as holy by believers of all three faiths.
See previous LifeSiteNews coverage:
Jerusalem Gay Pride Set for September 21
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/aug/06082902.html
Jerusalem Homosexuals Push for World Pride Again
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/aug/06082302.html
Homosexuals Hold Protest in Jerusalem in Wake of Nixed Pride Parade
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/aug/06081107.html