A meeting of the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee to discuss the planned gay pride parade in
Jerusalem ended with participants exchanging insults.
National Union-NRP MK Yitzhak Levy warned that a one-million strong protest would be held in the capital if police don't cancel the parade.
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"Where is the danger coming from? You made it up," Yael Dayan, a member of the Tel Aviv Municipality said.
Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Eliyahu Yishai of Shas and Levy called on the police to cancel the parade.
Yitzhak Levy said: "I call on the police to cancel the parade for fear of violence by extremists. Hundreds of thousands are planning to come from across the country to protest against the parade. The police is preparing for a large protest which could include one million people. There are threats and these threats are the reason for my calling on the police to cancel the parade's approval."
Meretz MK Ran Cohen said: "If we want to protect the dignity of the State of Israel and Jerusalem, there need to be a situation where Jerusalem respects all its citizens for all their positions, to respect the others although you don't agree with them."
Cohen's colleague Zahava Gal-On said: "I plan to take part in the parade and I fear the incitement that is being made from outside and within this House. We must not forget the words kill, especially in the week in which Yitzhak Rabin was killed. I call on the Internal Security Minister not to give in to pressure from anyone."
Meretz leader Yossi Beilin said: "We are here today to tell the police – be careful."
One of the rabbis who attended the discussions said about last year's parade: "The average homosexual was dressed in a white bride's dress. Homosexuals wearing underwear were everywhere and all this in the middle of Jerusalem."
Reform rabbi Gilad Kariv said: "It is legitimate to prevent the parade from entering the Meah Shearim neighborhood, but it is illegitimate to ban the parade in secular areas. The parade is no longer the parade of the homosexual and lesbian community but it became the parade of all Israelis who believe in freedom of expression and human rights."
Sheikh Abdel Salam said: "Jerusalem is the heart of the world, I am a messenger of God, a simple man, and I say God is stronger than the State of Israel and the United States, and he can sink Jerusalem like Sodom and Gomorrah and we can be left without a capital. My community won't physically oppose the parade but Jerusalem should be clean like the skies."
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