By Hillel Fendel
Jerusalem Affairs Minister Edri has asked the police to consider
banning the Homosexual Parade in Jerusalem, scheduled for nine days
from now. The
police are leaning towards calling it off.
The police announced last night (Tuesday) that they were planning to
deploy in top-level strength for the event - a declaration perceived
by some to be a salvo in the public-opinion war over whether or not to
allow the march. One internal police source said the announcement was
publicized merely to stir up anti-march sentiment; official police
sources denied this.
Hareidi-religious affairs commentator Yossi Elituv said, "The fight
against the march has knocked down all barriers in the hareidi and
religious camps. The Hassidic sectors - Belz, Gerrer, and others -
together with Litaim (non-Hassidic), as well as the Sephardi-hareidim
and the religious-Zionist sectors - all are standing together against
this parade."
The police say they have received word that protestors are planning to
throw eggs and razor blades at the marchers, flood the streets with
sewage, block roads in Jerusalem and elsewhere, and even possibly
perpetrate fake terrorist attacks. Elituv says these fears are
"ridiculous and totally unfounded." He said he does not believe any
violence is planned, but cannot rule out unpredictable acts by
individuals.
Official: March Would Not be Held in Mecca or Vatican
Army Radio's Micha Friedman asked a police official whether the police
were "actually yielding to the threats of violent groups." The
official said, "Let's not be naive. Such a parade would never be held
in the Vatican nor in Mecca..."
Members of the Islamic Movement have also called for the cancellation
of the parade.
The police said they are planning to field 6,000 policemen in
Jerusalem, with the addition of another 2,000 Border Guardsmen from
their patrols in Judea and Samaria, on the day of the march, if it is
held.
Protests Have Started
Hareidi protests against the march have already begun. Last night,
hundreds attempted to block the main highway leading to the Old City
from northern Jerusalem. Some protestors wore sackcloth and burnt
garbage bins; the police used violence to remove them, and several
protestors threw rocks. Four policemen were reported injured, while
no word was received on how many protestors were hurt. Several of the
latter were detained.
Thousands of religious Jews legally blocked off the Sabbath Square
intersection in the Me'ah She'earim neighborhood of Jerusalem two
weeks ago, threatening to be out in even stronger force if the march
is actually held.
Religious and political leaders have called for, and said they will
lead, active protests against the march. Tens of thousands are
expected to take part in protests against the march on the day itself,
and Jerusalem residents are signing up to host Jews from other parts
of the country for the Sabbath that begins immediately following the
end of the march.
Noa Satat, the head of the Jerusalem Open House, which is organizing
the march, said that the police have been working for weeks on plans
to protect the march, and therefore she is certain that the police
will "fulfill their legal obligation and protect freedom of
expression."
The Sanhedrin - a group of rabbis who say they have re-established the
religious-legal assembly of 71 sages that convened as the Supreme
Jewish Tribunal during the Holy Temple period and for several
centuries afterwards - has called upon all synagogues to hold their
upcoming Sabbath services on the streets. "Close your doors and pray
outside," the organization calls, "as a sign of shame, warning and
pleading for the abominable march to be canceled. We must not
continue our regular routine while the police and courts force a march
of abomination in Jerusalem upon millions of Jews against their faith
and belief in the holiness of the city and the Torah's dictates."
Police Commissioner Moshe Karadi announced that he has postponed his
scheduled trip to Turkey next week, in light of the preparations
needed for the march. Karadi was to have signed a cooperation
agreement between the police forces of Israel and Turkey.
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