Minister Yishai: Gay parade an explosive belt
Shas chairman files petition to High Court against pride parade; Yesha Council rabbis call on public to convene at Temple Mount one day before march in order to thwart it through prayers rather than through violence
The minister told Ynet, "I personally filed a petition as a citizen in a bid to prevent the abomination parade in the city's streets.
"Why didn’t those people try and hold the parade in Mecca or at the Vatican? This is an explosive belt which could shake the entire Middle East."
According to Yishai, "there is no compromise. It must not take place in the State of Israel, certainly not in Jerusalem, but also not in Tel Aviv."
Meanwhile, the Committee of Yesha Rabbis of the West Bank and Gaza Strip called on Jews to come and pray at the Temple Mount.
"The resistance against the abomination parade is shared by parties, nations and religions. All the great people of Israel whom I speak to cannot sleep at night because they are so worried. What should we expected from such a shocking parade and what does it conceal?
"Those marchers are hurting the sanctity of Jerusalem, and only for spite. I heard the claim that they will hold a limited parade. There is no such thing as limiting the impurity and limiting the affliction. Such a parade will lead to social, worldwide destruction."
Riots in Jerusalem (Photo: AFP)
Yishai called on the public not to resort to violence and noted that all rabbis, including Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, called to refrain from violent acts.
"These people say they are enlightened. What kind of enlightenment is this when so many people, including those affiliated with their small camp, are calling on them not to hold an abomination parade, and they insist. Is this enlightenment?"
"I beg the court, we are heading toward an earthquake. Has freedom of speech become freedom of incitement? Will we let them wash Jerusalem with filth? This is a parade which is only aimed at getting superficial ratings and publicly presenting a social perversion, and this rating is dragging the State of Israel to a commotion for no reason. I expect the court to send them rolling down the stairs, and to do it fast."
After the chief rabbis called on the ultra-Orthodox public to arrive in Jerusalem and hold mass protest rallies on Friday as a response to the pride parade, the Committee of Yesha Rabbis of the West Bank and Gaza Strip also voiced its opinion Tuesday.
The Yesha rabbis, however, did not suffice with calling on the public to arrive in Jerusalem, but directed the believers to a mass public prayer at the Temple Mount, a day before the parade.
Simultaneously, several right-wing movements appealed to the Jerusalem Police to allow them to visit the Temple Mount. They announced that if they should be turned down, they would turn to the High Court.
"Following the miserable decision to openly contaminate Jerusalem, we call on the entire public to join mass prayers for the abolition of this bad command, and as we have learned, out power is in prayer, not in violent clashes, God forbid," the rabbis said.
"We call to prepare for a mass public prayer on Thursday at our holy Temple Mount at 9:30 a.m., in order to mourn the ingoing destruction and beg God to maintain the sanctity of Jerusalem."
MK Zahava Gal-On, chairwoman of the Meretz faction, responded to Yishai's petition against the gay pride parade and said that “Jeruslalem won’t become Hebron’s Casbah”.
Gal-On said, “The High Court of Justice specifically said that community members had a right to freedom of expression and to march, and Eliyahu Yishai won’t be the one to influence the courts opinion. The realization of freedom of expression doesn’t include the behavior of the Haredim as the though they were in Hebron’s Casbah.”
Saar Netanel, a member of the Jerusalem council, described Yishai's remarks as "dangerous to democracy and a real danger to public safety."
Netanel said it is absurd that a government minister like Yishai is adding fuel to the fire instead of calling for calm.
Young Meretz: Deal with haredi violence like terror
Rabbi Daniel Shilo, spokesman of the Committee of Yesha Rabbis of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, said explained to Ynet what was behind the rabbi's call.
"So far we have no called for a prayer at the Temple Mount and the police have prohibited the freedom of speech for fear of violence. Now, after the attorney general ruled that freedom of speech can be permitted and the parade can be held, we also have the right for freedom of speech," he said.
Meanwhile, Young Meretz Chairman Uri Zaki called on the police to impose a curfew on ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in Jerusalem following the violent protests in the past few days.
"This is a haredi intifada," Zaki explained. "There is terror here for all intents and purposes, and with terror one must deal like every terror is dealt with – curfew and prevention detentions."
Zaki explained that he does not blindly support the "Israeli law's firm hand," but added that "the moment there are threats on law and order the police must deal with it. The Israeli law permits taking extreme measures against terror and a population backing terror, and the State must use them without discrimination."
"What is happening and what will happen following the parade is no less dangerous than what we have seen in the past on the part of the Arab population. It is no less severe than the incidents which led to the clashes with Israel's Arabs in 2000, and maybe even worse," he said.
Efrat Weiss and Moran Rada contributed to the report
