should be caught, locked up and prosecuted. That's the way a free democracy works. The inciteful violent haridim misbehaving in Jerusalem are disgusting as is the person or persons (and we don't know if it was a gay person or one who wants to stir a backlash) who defaced the shul in Tel Aviv. This is a country of laws not vigilantiism and in the end we have to live together as Jewish Israelis. Most of the gay people I know want to live and let live - and don't bother anybody. But we have a right to march in our own capital city. Nobody is marching thrgough religious areas or holy cites - so anybody is free to stay home for a few hours if they don't like it.

Unbelievable - Geulat Yisrael is a great little shul. I once was grabbed in my bathing suit one evening waling back from the promenade to Neve Tzedek so that they could have a minyan for minchah/maariv. I asked what the nusach was...they said "it doesn't matter, we are all Jews". No one blinked an eye that I had my flip-flops, shorts and t-shirt. These people are true Jews in their hearts!

It just proves that democracy can go to extremes in this country. I myself am not religious but to vandalise a shul is barbaric and disgustingly disgraceful. Shame on who ever is to blame. Their priorties are incorrect, they should be proud they are Jewish and Israeli and conceal their sexual confessions for the bedroom behind closed doors please!!!!

What lunacy is the world succumbing to. All these religions with their dogma and doctrines and absolute righteousness. Is it a lack of intellegence? Straight or gay people need to be loved and cared for. This isnt happening in 'GODS OWN COUNTRY' is it? I really think people who believe they have the monopoly on the truth have physchological problems. Live and let live, and if there is a heaven, well those fundementalists can at least rest assured they wont have to exist beside evil homosexuals, who surely languish in hell! What utter braindead nonsense!

As a gay American Jew planning to make Aliyah I think what is going on is despicable. Synagogues should be respected and so should people. At this point, have the march in Tel Aviv, but let people know that gay Jews--even Charedi Gay Jews--live in Jerusalem. Unfortunately the Charedim cannot come out. Also, Homosexuals are NOT an abomination, although the Orthodox may find homosexual ACTS an abomination. I am not a Talmudic scholar, but isn't eating shell fish also an abomination? Do we hold protests around restaurants that serve shell fish in Jerusalem (I assume there are some?). Oh and while I am on a roll here, don't Gays serve and defend Israel in the army and most Charedi don't!?

Hate to break it to you Sagi but Shul is a Yiddish word and Yiddish has plenty of connection to our history and heritage. If you are so ignorant as to believe otherwise, I can't be bothered to explain it to you.

H, are you serious? You think that a couple of broken windows are worse than seriously injuring a human being, as I assume a policeman is. How can you compare the two and say that vandalism to a synagogue is worse?

could never ever be the writing of a hareide education. The lamed and tav are not written like that.This is is the work of a deformed person with an unformed mind, which shows its elf in his/her/ its writing.

A week before commemorating "Kristalnacht." Hmmm.

of the story? Well, I have. And there are plenty hospitalized because of police violence. Before you give a comment, look at both sides of the story.

Now they vandalized Shuls... They simply belong to a different community and whatever they say are closer to american, european or arab gays than to the average Jew.

"Israel is not a democracy, it is a theocracy and we don't want gays parading in our Holy city." - Adam Segal WTF!!!!!!! I beg to differ with you. Israel is NOT a theocracy. Some might like to make it a theocracy but it is not a theocracy. And the minute Israel becomes a theocracy, its best and brightest will leave, weakening the country significantly (I believe this was the case in Iran after Khomeini came to power). Israel CANNOT afford to lose its best and brightest with the Arabs breathing down our necks. Hell, with the Haredim never serving in teh Army, it would be a great time to attack if everyone else who has some idea as to how to fight a war, leaving only Haredim who don't know how to hold a gun or work, for that matter. Anyway, from teh picture, it seems that the shul/synagogue/beit knesset that was vandalized was a shul attached to a Chabad house just off Sheinkin near Beit Tami, a community center. It's my understanding that Sheinkinites who become religious often go to that shul. I would think that these were the wrong people to attack. Gay Pride parades have gone on in Tel-Aviv for years with no interference that I know of from the Haredim. Especially since thsi shul is likely attended by formerly secular Sheinkinites themselves. Lastly, I just don't understand how Jews can deface a synagogue like this. The lack of respect for religion is mind boggling. Christian atheists don't vandalize churches. Assimilated Jews abroad don't vandalize synagogues. That these people could do this is evidence of a VERY DANGEROUS disconnect between young secular Israelis and anything Jewish. Part of the responsibility for this is the secular parents who raised kids without any Jewish content. It is also the responsibility fo the Orthodox religious establishment in Israel for trying to force their agenda on the whole country, making people disgusted with anything smacking of Judaism. The state will pay dearly for this in the future. And becoming a thoecracy will be counterproductive so don't go that way.

As I said we live with different standards . You NEED religious rules , i have humanistic rules . Israel is a state for the Jews , for ALL , not only religious or charidi .

Would you say the same, if that vandalized synagogue happened to be in France, Poland or Germany?

First off, are you in NYC or in TA, you cant be in both. Second of all, as long as our flag is a Star of David on a Talit, as long as our national anthems cries about the jewish soul and as long as we remember that the state of Israel was established after six million jews died in the holocaust, Israel will be a theocracy.

being a secular capital of a secular state, and must be respected as such.

You probably did not read my explanation to my #1 . This is not a charasteristic antisemite response to such acts , wich i as non religious human condemn . But those haridim spray such a hatred towards non believers , that such a reaction had to come from some irresponsible "person" This is not the first desacralisation of a synagogue in our country , it happened some months ago in my town . And this was a truly antisemitic one . And a next time , give your name and place of living .

quote #1 "how sad , but the haridi asked for this . If they want to be tolerated , they have also to be tolerant . " """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" aftermath of parade: I'll leave it to your imagination """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" how sad , but the gays asked for this . If they want to be tolerated , they have also to be tolerant . GAYS WERE THE FIRST TO PERPRETATE AN ACT OF VANDALISM SO MIND YOUR REASONING ,WE"LL USE IT

first of all try to spell my name correctly . The gay's did not want to provoke anyone , they do not parade in mea shearim . They only want to do it in their capital . If this is a sign of intolerance for you , for me not . secondly , they did not use violence , they did not attack a bus or a taxi , as your "good" people did . Your haridi did nothing for the liberation of wath they call the holy city . Ask men who , in 1948 , brought supply to the assieged city , who risked their lives to do so , how they were received by those "good" Jews . They are only tolerant to non believers when they come schnorren at our homes . They are the most intolerant , some very nice exepted , of all Jews . PS Gabriela , english is not my mother tongue , so sorry for errors

YOU ARE WRONG: 1) vandalising a synagogue is vandalism, plain and simple 2)Jerusalem is almost ALL religious no matter what neighbourhood you'll pick the majority will still be religious, at the least very traditionally minded. AND I LIVE HERE, believe what i say. Mea Shearim is just another stereotype, hareidim, and national religious are just around every corner, in every building taking up whole neighbourhoods. Mind you, arabs would get insulted as much. And many, yes many, hareidim liberated israel from the brits and jordanians, my family included. YOU are being totally intollerant of us. Why do you asume parade only bothers hareidim, are you so misinformed ??? Havent you read hundreds of tbs of national religious, seculars and just anyone around the globe showing his disgust for parede? Make numbers and see how hareidim are only a minority amongst the offended ones . Want to come to Jerusalem? I'll invite you for a wonderful shabbat. Kol Tuv

During the LAST Jerusalem gay pride march (not including the aborted World Pride), THREE peaceful marchers were stabbed by a Haredi protestor, after widespread threats, including threats by the execrable O. Yosef. During that same march, ZERO Haredim were stabbed by gay marchers. There is hardly a week that passes when Haredim have not caused property damage and thrown stones at those who do not behave as the Haredim wish. The Haredim are a violent and primitive people who hide behind religion to justify their crimes, and their draft-dodging, and their welfare guzzling. BTW, that Castro Halloween riot involved gang conflict; it had nothing to do with the SF gay community. Just shows how far Kyle will go to try to prove his points.

Israel has many enemies that have already caused so much damage to synagugoes and other holy places. It is not right that a Jew should turn against another Jew. As long as no one is bothering anyone, then who cares whether someone is gay and or not? Gay men and women serve in the army.

"There is hardly a week that passes when Haredim have not caused property damage and thrown stones at those who do not behave as the Haredim wish. The Haredim are a violent and primitive people who hide behind religion to justify their crimes, and their draft-dodging, and their welfare guzzling. " well now THIS is not selective vile hatred............prove yourself as for the gay killings in Sn frncisco Kyle posted the link, take a look Flauting a gay parade in front of our children could be worse than stabbing them in the back, dont pretend your so naive

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,583700,00.html

which is more important, or to those that follow ancient scripture,their culture and books or their basic humanity? Life doesnt have to be so complicated.. it is, but really, do we all not have to step back and ask ourselves are the simple pleasures of love and happiness and giving and sharing with our fellow man not worth our lifes work.. or shall we all decend into mass neorotic self destruction. Such self/mass 'belief' is blind and I truly feel the point is being missed. We need to pull together and care for this beautiful creation that is earth and all that comes from it, because all of us little humans are here to only reflect the beauty, the ugliness is a breakdown in our ability to see.

I grant that "hardly a week" is imprecise and somewhat overstates the case. Apologies. Yet any reader of Ynet has seen Haredi rampages time and time again. Sometimes an Internet cafe is attacked; sometimes someone with the wrong tee-shirt is attacked; etc. Gays are being threatened, and they were stabbed last year. Dude, sorry, I used to question some of these stories, but when Ovadia Yosef calls gay people in Israel "Canaanites," thus implicitly suggesting they should be expelled or killed, this is not *my* imagination or *my* hatred. When I say they hide behind religion to justify their crimes, I was *not* in error, and Yosef's statement is proof positive from the highest levels. As for draft-dodging and welfare guzzling, well, there's no question about these. I would be more polite, except that I have grown angry at all the "pervert-sodomite-abomination" language. Sue me. Finally, I reviewed Kyle's link. Unless I misread (and I don't think I did), this was gang related. But you know what? If you seriously think gay people are predisposed to violent crime, why don't you hang out at gay bars and straight bars and compare the number of scuffles. Fair enough?

This is deplorable, and whoever did it should be punished. Anyway, it's feeble as "activism" if it was done by gays. The appropriate response would be to visit some Haredi hide out with lots of gay muscle (Haredim are only strong in gangs) and have a gay-visibility "action." Be prepared to kiss. In other words, be nonviolent but be prepared for Haredi violence. No property damage, no secrecy.

Hey Kyle, I'm more than a little disappointed at you. It's one thing to have negative feelings toward gay people; it's another to lie. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/02/MNGG3M4KA31.DTL&hw=riot&sn=003&sc=831

I never said that vandalizing a synagogue is not vandalism , and i condemn this . There are only 4 anti's from Jerusalem , those from overseas are not so aware of the situation here . As for the liberation of Jerusalem , i have also first hand information , a Palmachnik who fought to supply Jerusalem . One thing i must concede , you are not , as many others , spraying hatred , and i do not want to offend you . There is a Jewish law : Derech Eretz kodem Lethora . Do the stone throwers respect this ? I'm relatively often in my capital , i do'nt know where they want the parade to take place , probably Yafostreet , and there , as in most of the shopping streets around the world , there are no many inhabitants . I thank you for your invitation , have a fine Shabbat