Horrific attack at Gay Pride in Jerusalem
Less than 30 minutes after Jerusalem’s annual Gay Pride Parade commenced on Friday morning (Australian time), an orthodox man stabbed six participants, seriously wounding two.
The procession of thousands of people through downtown Jerusalem was heading down Keren HaYesod Street when the suspect lunged into the crowd, wildly stabbing the victims before being tackled by police.
It has since emerged that the attacker, Yishai Shlissel, was convicted for a similar attack in 2005 and was only released from jail less than a month ago.
According to Maariv, Shlissel published a handwritten letter the week before the parade saying that “it is the obligation of every Jew to keep his soul from punishment and stop this giant desecration of God’s name next Thursday”.
He also said in the letter that the parades were happening “because of our enormous sins”.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this is an “extremely serious” situation.
“Justice will be dealt to whoever was responsible for this act,” Netanyahu said.
“In the State of Israel, an individual’s freedom of choice is one of the country’s most basic values.
“It is up to us to make sure that every man and woman can live in safety at all times in every way that they choose to live.
“This is how we work and this is how we will continue to do things. I wish a speedy recovery to all those injured.”
Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat said that “the atrocious act tonight in Jerusalem is an attempt to hurt the quality of life in the city and to prevent the basic right of freedom of expression”.
He vowed to continue “to support all of the groups and communities in Jerusalem.”
“In Jerusalem there is a place for everyone and we will continue to fight, together with the police, everyone who tries to hurt another with violence.”
Editors note: It is fitting at this time to remind readers that on Monday night in Melbourne the Jewish Community Council of Victoria’s member organisations will vote to decide if Keshet, which aims to challenge ongoing prejudice and discrimination within the Jewish community, including investigating the experiences of all Jews who may or may not feel able to come out, will be admitted as an affiliate. We encourage the community to attend the JCCV plenum and tell the community that we all stand against violence to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in our community. Click here to read the story about the vote.
WITH JPOST
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