After a Jerusalem city council member forced the U.S. Embassy to remove an LGBT banner on Tuesday, the city's deputy mayor now says it's unnecessary to put up Gay Pride flags across the capital all the events associated with Pride Month have been cancelled due to coronavirus.
Arieh King said on Wednesday that in light of the cancellation of this year's Jerusalem Pride Parade, it was unnecessary for the rainbow colored flags to be displayed across the city.
Three other council members, Yosi Havilo, Laura Wharton and Fleur Hassan Nahoum, told Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, they vehemently oppose any calls to remove the LGBT flags.
The Jerusalem Municipality removed an LGBT banner from an exterior wall of the U.S. embassy only a day prior, after the mayor's assistant alerted authorities that the embassy did not gave a permission to hang the banner.
"The 'PRIDE' sign at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem was temporarily removed today (Tuesday, June 23, 2020) pending a discussion with city officials in the city of Jerusalem," the embassy said in a statement.
The city, which has a predominantly religious population, has displayed rainbow flags along the streets on the Pride Parade route every year since 2005.