Victory that’s a loss
Gays’ childish insistence to hold parade in Jerusalem mortally wounded fragile relations in city
I’ve restrained myself for a week and believe me, it’s been difficult. But I wanted to see what would happen the day after. After the burning garbage dumpsters were no longer part of the scent of Jerusalem, after the angry flyers were collected from the sidewalks and the gay pride flags were folded up. After the opposing sides returned to routine, one alongside the other, in the same city, for the rest of the year.
A week after the gay pride parade, it looks like business as usual in Jerusalem. But the serious blow to the fabric of life in the long-suffering city is still there under the surface.
Take, for example, Motti, one of those people who was always moving between the two camps. He comes from a well-known haredi family in Jerusalem, and after discovering his preferences he left the neighborhood where his family lives. The haredi community considers him to be somewhat less religious than he had been, but no one knew about his other life or felt the need to investigate in depth. He used to go to the synagogue with his father on the Sabbath, was warmly received by his former friends, and was at peace with himself, as far as possible, in such a difficult situation.
Jerusalem pride parade (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
When the tempests of the parade began arriving in Jerusalem, the atmosphere changed immediately. Suddenly, after the earth-shattering revelation was made by another haredi who, in the spirit of the times, felt the need to tell, Motti became an “enemy of religion,” a leper, cursed by people, especially young people. He knows that next Shabbat he’ll receive the cold shoulder in the synagogue.
Parade leaders hurt supporters
The haredi public has generally not allowed itself to be brought into these struggles. The lesson from the previous struggle has been well learned, but the cold wind blowing from Motti’s former neighbors and the mute anger are having an effect. He can no longer continue to be the child they remember gathering candies at bar mitzvahs and weddings – he has gone over to the forces of darkness. The very public manner in which the organizers of the parade operated in their attempt to forcibly “enlighten” those haredim has done its work – for Motti, the clock cannot be turned back.I’ll confess that there were times when I appreciated the way the organizers worked, even if I didn’t agree with it. I thought that the very, very serious disagreement I had with their approach did not matter because it seemed that they really wanted what was best for the population they represented. Today, however, I am no longer so sure. My feeling is that the leaders of the struggle to hold the parade committed the worst sin possible by hurting the people they were supposed to protect.
After all, everyone is supposed to continue to live together, to share the same urban space, to meet in the grocery store or the bank, to work in the same workplaces. But how can they do this now if the fence that separates them has grown tremendously, with the generous assistance of the “proud”?
Stupidity and stubbornness
“Be smart, not right,” is the appropriate expression when you get involved in people’s lives, but the parade organizers had apparently never heard of this. Stupidly and stubbornly, with no real benefit, in a childish and contrarian manner, they managed to mortally wound the delicate fabric of relations between the two groups. They simply claimed the mantle of freedom fighters at the expense of those people who had placed their trust in them and their hope for a better future.You were wrong, there was no need to march, there was no need for defiance. This is not how you engage in dialogue, how you lead to understanding. You made a grave mistake by making an entire population angry at you. Believe me, that is a difficult task. With several well-guarded steps you turned your constituency into an enemy of Judaism, you did not think where the border police would be the day after. Please don’t expect any medals for “building bridges,” for which you worked so hard in the High Court of Justice.
In a democracy it’s important to preserve and defend the rights of the minority. But the majority must never be allowed to be held hostage by the minority. (Yes, in Jerusalem the majority is religiously observant.)
You insisted on marching? You marched. Defiance has a heavy price, and the payment comes the day after. It would be a good thing for you to demonstrate a bit of fairness now and begin to help rehabilitate the fragile relationships that you destroyed and ruined, all in the name of justice, of course.
