Pride march in Jerusalem draws thousands of marchers, police

Under heavy police guard, gay activists marched in a gay pride parade in downtown Jerusalem on Thursday, sparking a noisy counter-demonstration by ultra-Orthodox Jews and denunciations by Muslim and Christian leaders. There were no incidents of violence during the brief event.

The activists, some wearing rainbow skullcaps or waving rainbow flags, cheered and sang as they walked just a few hundred meters along a street that passes in front of the historic King David Hotel. Police said 2,500 took part.

Police in riot gear lined both sides of the street, part of the 7,000-strong force deployed throughout the city for an annual event that highlights the deep divide between the city's secular and religious communities. Marchers say they are exercising their civil rights, while opponents say the march debases the city that is holy to the three main monotheistic religions.

Opposition to the march has turned violent in the past, and this year police far outnumbered protesters.

Marchers carried posters of Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama and signs bearing messages like ''Out of the closet and into the street.'' Three men wore matching pink T-shirts, shiny pink cowboy hats, and carried pink lace umbrellas. Their shirts read, ''The Israeli Gay Party.''

''I am demanding my civil rights, including the right to get married and have children,'' said marcher Guy Frishman, 27. ''I want to have rights like every other person.''

The owners of shops selling Jewish religious items along the route stood by silently, grimacing at the marchers.

But Marlene Barro, a tourist from San Francisco, a city famous for its flamboyant gay pride parade, cheered on the marchers.

''But I'm just disappointed there aren't more people in drag,'' she said.

In one incident, a lone antigay protester scuffled with police and was dragged away. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that altogether 19 antigay protesters were arrested trying to approach the march, but there were no violent confrontations.

Organizers said they canceled a gathering in a park at the end of the truncated route because they were unable to get a permit from the fire department.

Across the city, several hundred ultra-Orthodox protesters held their demonstration, bringing traffic to a standstill at the main entrance to Jerusalem. Trash bins were set on fire, and smoke and the stench of burning garbage wafted through the air. Dozens of pedestrians wandered through the empty streets.

Protest leaders chanted psalms through loudspeakers, and marchers waved banners saying ''Shame'' and ''Israeli Supreme Court: Destroying the Holy City.''

Opponents appealed to the Israeli supreme court to ban the march, but the justices ruled Wednesday night that it could go ahead.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews have rioted repeatedly over the past week, burning tires, assaulting policemen, and damaging police cars.

Police spokesman Rosenfeld said 22 policemen were injured and 130 people arrested in the run-up to the parade, including a 32-year-old ultra-Orthodox man caught Thursday morning carrying a homemade explosive device. Under questioning, the man said he had planned to plant the explosive along the parade route, Rosenfeld said.

At the 2005 march, an ultra-Orthodox man stabbed three marchers. Last year, the street parade was canceled because of safety concerns, and gays celebrated at a sports stadium on the edge of the city.

The gay pride event routinely brings together the religious leaders of Jerusalem—known for their sharp disagreements on most political issues—in a consensus of condemnation.

On Thursday, Sheik Mohammed Hussein, mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine, denounced the march and criticized the government for permitting it. ''Such a march contradicts all religions and morals and the natural human way of being,'' he said.

Many main streets in the downtown area were closed hours before the march, and public transportation was routed away from the city center.

Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said in a statement it was preparing an ''unprecedented operation,'' readying 200 medics, 45 ambulances, 11 mobile intensive care units, and a field command center. Additional medics and ambulances were on standby, the statement said. They were not needed.

''Perhaps we should thank the ultra-Orthodox community for giving us what we want, which is visibility that will lead to a kind of acceptance of our place in this city,'' said Jerry Levinson, a gay activist.

Levinson estimated that 60,000 gays live in metropolitan Jerusalem. (Ben Hubbard, AP)