June 6, 2008
Tel Aviv Marks Pride, New Gay Center
Steve Weinstein READ TIME: 1 MIN.
More than 1,000 people marked June 6 as Tel Aviv's Pride March. It took place despite the protests of a handful of Orthodox Jewish legislators and protestors. The event also marked the opening of Tel Aviv's--and Israel's--first gay community center.
As ynet noted, the event was festive and did, in fact, involve local politicians, including City Councilwoman Yael Dayan, who told the crowd, "You are my brothers and sisters and I love you."
A local member of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, Zahava Gal-Onsaid, "This parade is a demonstration against those harming the freedom of expression. We are struggling for equality and respect and we have a long way to go. No one will stop us, we will be here again next year and we will be victorious."
The parade culminated at the new community center, which is housed in a former high school. Queerty reported that a handful of right wing demonstrators held signs that read, "Animals! You have nothing to be proud of, take your medication."
Zahava Gal-On slammed the religious Shas party and its chairman Eli Yishai, who tried to prevent the parade from going ahead by filing a compliant to police. "Yishai cannot profit politically at the expense of the participants in the Gay Pride parade," Queerty reported Gal-On saying.
Steve Weinstein has been a regular correspondent for the International Herald Tribune, the Advocate, the Village Voice and Out. He has been covering the AIDS crisis since the early '80s, when he began his career. He is the author of "The Q Guide to Fire Island" (Alyson, 2007).
