Jerusalem gays hold eighth pride parade despite ongoing controversy

Jerusalem - Amid a heavy police presence, hundreds of Israelis gathered Wednesday for Jerusalem's annual Gay Pride Parade, the eighth in the city where most leaders of all three monotheistic faiths oppose the gathering. More than 1,500 police were on the streets to protect the marchers, who gathered in West Jerusalem's central Bell Park, from where they would continue up the closed off King David Street to the city's Independence Park. The parade comes two weeks after its counterpart in the largely secular sea-side city of Tel Aviv, which drew tens of thousands. Unlike the pulsating parade in Israel's secular capital, the parade in Jerusalem was far more muted. Few, if any marchers, wore flamboyant costumes, and except for three men discreetly dressed as women, there were no drag queens. In the overwhelmingly religious city of Jerusalem, where the majority of practising Jews, Muslims and Christians oppose the event, the parade is far more controversial. Four years ago, three participants were lightly injured when stabbed by an ultra-Orthodox Jew opposed to the Jerusalem event. Protests against the parade in the city gained unprecedented momentum in 2006 when ultra-Orthodox Yeshiva students took to the streets for nine consecutive nights, burning garbage containers and throwing stones and objects at the police. The ultra-Orthodox community, however, decided this year to avoid public protests to avoid giving the parade additional publicity. While the majority of their community regard homosexuality as an 'abomination' - and Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party has called for both the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv parades to be either called off or restricted - several organizations for ultra-Orthodox gays and lesbians are participating in Thursday's march as well. Although lagging behind such countries as Canada or Holland, Israel is seen as one of the most advanced nations when it comes to gay rights. Soldiers are allowed to be openly gay in the military, and while same-sex couples cannot get married in Israel, their marriages, when conducted abroad, are recognized as legal upon return to the country. Gay partners of diplomats are accorded the same rights and benefits as heterosexual diplomatic spouses. Israel's first annual gay parade was held in Tel Aviv 11 years ago and has since become the biggest in the Middle East. Since then, gay parades are also held in the Red Sea resort of Eilat, the northern port city of Haifa and, for the first time, in the southern Negev desert capital of Beersheba. The Israeli parades are the only ones in the Middle East, organizers say.