JERUSALEM— With 25,000 in attendance from across Israel, the 15th Annual Jerusalem Pride March, which occurred July 21, 2016, was the city's largest yet. The parade stood in stark contrast to last year's tragedy, when six people were stabbed by Yishai Schlissel, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish assailant. Shira Banki, 16, later died from her wounds.
The march is organized each year by the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance ( JOH ). The organization serves the city's diverse LGBTQ communities. Pride organizers worried that people might stay away because of fear of another attack. In fact, Schlissel was accused of planning a new plot from prison to harm the march. However, undeterred marchers came out in droves, as this year's parade was five times larger than last year's.
"The march was better than we could have ever hoped for," said organizer Noam Eyal. "Jerusalem really needed this. It's a message to any future attacker that if you try something like this, it will backfire."
Eyal should know. He was one of the six people stabbed last year. "I was number two stabbed. Shira Banki was number three. I didn't know her, we just happened to be standing next to each other," Eyal said.
"The events of last year's march caught us off guard," said Tom Canning, the development director at the Jerusalem Open House. "We thought the violence couldn't happen, but it did." Canning explained that while the LGBT community is accepted in the liberal neighborhoods of Tel Aviv, discrimination and homophobia still exist throughout the Israel.
"What Israeli society realized is that maybe we are not doing as good with LGTBQ rights as we thought we were," said Canning.
The JOH spent the past year trying to heal a traumatized community and to build bridges. "We've been working with rabbis and religious institutions to create dialogue. At the end of the day we have the same mission to bring people together and promote understanding," Canning explained.
The efforts of the JOH paid off as busloads of attendees from across Israel arrived in Jerusalem to march.
Security was high as the police blocked traffic and all marchers had to pass through a security check. More than 40 people were detained for attempting to harm the march, including two who were found with knives.
Participants first assembled in Liberty Bell Park, where the chant of mourners reciting the Kaddish for Shira Banki mingled with the thump of disco from the stage as police helicopters whirred overhead. Pre-march festivities culminated when Jerusalemites Yochai Werman and Yotam Hacohen were married on a small stage. A wall of photojournalists shoved for prime spots as the couple exchanged vows and each husband broke a glass in the traditional Jewish wedding style. The couple kissed to cheers and dancing from the crowd.
The parade began an hour late due to the unexpected throng of attendees. People marched, chanted, celebrated and danced, while flanked on both sides by armed guards. The route paid homage to the spot where Banki was stabbed. The mood grew somber as crowds stopped to place flowers at the site, adorned with a large photo of the fallen teenager.
The parade ended at Independence Day Park where there were a variety of performances and speeches, including a speech from Shira Banki's father. He urged everyone to fight for a tolerant society. "Don't let hatred, ignorance and prejudice sweep you away. Get up and stand for your right to live in a tolerant society."
The parade featured a mixture of young and old, Orthodox and secular, LGBT folks and straight allies. While there were individual Arab marchers, noticeably absent were Arab organizations, including the East Jerusalem-based al-Qaws, a non-profit supporting LGBTQ Palestinians. Earlier this year, Palestinian queer groups and other Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement activists launched a Boycott Tel Aviv Pride campaign which asserted that Israel was using gay rights as a cover for its policies of occupation, referred to as Pinkwashing.
Although there was no official boycott Jerusalem campaign, the lack of participation from Arab organizations was a clear reminder of the divisions that still exist. Yet, in a complicated city full of clashing politics, the LGBTQ community sent a clear message that homophobia and violence will not be tolerated.
