WorldPride parade canceled due to Israeli-Hezbollah conflict

With the crisis in the Middle East approaching an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, organizers of WorldPride in Jerusalem have announced the cancellation of the pride parade in August. But organizers vow that other events in the festival will go on as planned.

In a statement released Friday, Jerusalem Open House cochair Hagai El-Ad said, "These are not the times for festivities." With a large portion of the Israeli army massing along the Lebanese border, WorldPride organizers said they were forced to cancel the gay pride parade because there aren't enough soldiers left to protect the marchers.

In a show of unity atypical for the region, radical Jewish, Muslim, and Christian groups all came together to condemn WorldPride and threaten violence against anyone in the parade. WorldPride insists that it is the threat of war--not the threats of violence from extremist clerics--that forced the parade's cancellation.

Many of the WorldPride events will go on as planned, however, including a multifaith gay clergy conference, a gay film festival, and other activities. Cathy Renna, spokeswoman for WorldPride, says that thousands are still expected to attend those events, which will run on schedule August 6-12.

WorldPride is held in a different city around the globe every four years. WorldPride postponed festivities in Jerusalem last summer after Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip. (Sirius OutQ News)