Lupolianski embraces gay mayor
Openly gay mayor of Paris, ultra-Orthodox mayor of Jerusalem embrace following meeting; municipality refuses to comment on issue of sexual orientation. Parisian mayor visits Katyusha sites in Upper Galilee
During the month where the city of Jerusalem was up in flames on the issue of the gay pride parade, it was the ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski who gave a warm embrace to Bertrand Delanoë, the openly gay mayor of it's sister city Paris .
In a conversation with Ynet, the city's spokesman Gidi Schmerling refused to discuss the matter and said that the two have been in good working conditions for several years.
During the meeting, the two discussed joint projects, erection of matching monuments and the light-rail project which is being conducted by French companies. The Parisian mayor told Lupolianski that he always gets excited when he visits Jerusalem which is a city with special characteristics which do not exist in any other places in the world.
Lupolianski told Delanoë that Jerusalem has thousands of ambassadors for France and the city of Paris who have immigrated to Israel and live in Jerusalem.
Warm visit to Jerusalem
Prior to his visit in Jerusalem Delanoë visited northern Israel and toured the places which were hit by rockets during the war. Delanoë started his visit in Kiryat Shmona which suffered more than 1,000 rocket hits during the war.
Kiryat Shmona Mayor Haim Barbibai, who visited Paris a month ago, invited the city's management to Israel to see first hand the pain suffered by the city's residents.
According to Barbibai, he attempted to change the outlook of the Parisian mayor who was convinced that the Lebanese are the only ones who suffered during the war because they are held in the middle between the fire of Israel and Hizbullah which is an instrument of Iran and Syria.
"Through the tour of the landing sites I was able to demonstrate our side as well," he said.
Delanoë, who visited the local police station and the local soldier's hotel and club in the city, decided to donate, together with the United Israel Appeal, 30,000 euros (USD 38,486) for the child development center which was damaged during the war.
From there he continued to Metulah, which sits on the border with Lebanon and met with council head of the Upper Gallillee Regional Council Aharon Valensi.
Valensi said that he chose to take Delanoë to Tel Hai, where he heard the heroic story of Joseph Trumpeldor and his comrades who protected the Galilee with their bodies.
"Later we walked to Kfar Giladi and stood under the monument which was erected in memory of the 12 IDF soldiers who were killed from a Katyusha attack who were on their way to the border to defend the communities of the Galilee."
