Here we go again. Looks like there going to be trouble in River City. With a capital T. Or should I say capital “G”.
June 21st is the day a Gay Pride Parade is supposed to take place in Jerusalem. This is of course not the first time this has happened. Jerusalem has had Gay Pride parades every year since 2002. But last year a massive world wide parade was protested violently and the parade was canceled. Instead a rally was held in a nearby stadium. But this year they are trying again. There are two attempts going on to try and prevent this. One attempt is an amendment to an existing law proposed by a religious MK which“would authorize the Jerusalem city council to ban any marches and demonstrations due if they are deemed likely to cause public disorder or offend the residents, as well as for religious reasons.”
Another attempt is a planned major demonstration by the Edah HaCharedis. I hope they change their minds. The violence that will result will most certainly not advance their cause. It will only generate sympathy for the homosexual participants. And the Edah will be seen as a primitive religious body ala the Taliban. Instead of threatening violence, the Edah should instead work with the religious Kenesset members to assure passage of the amendment. In a democratic society the representatives of the people should be allowed to do their job.
And it is indeed a legitimate exercise of democracy to ban such parades. Freedom of speech is a major tenet of a democracy. A parade down a major thoroughfare is a legitimate expression of that right. But so too is it the right in a democracy for its citizenry to determine community standards. And when one groups rights conflict with another it is up to the elected representatives to balance the rights of one group against the other and legislate responsibly. This is what this amendment does.
Jerusalem’s special character demands that religious sensibilities be respected. Violating those sensibilities by a parade like this will certainly generate violence. And protecting the populace from the injury that could result is just as important to a democracy as is freedom of speech. The insult to the religious sensibilities of all three major faiths residing in Jerusalem that this parade would incur will most certainly generate violence and injury. And that justifies a limitation on the of freedom of speech no less than does a ban against yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater.
The Edah HaCharedis seems to be unconcerned with the violence that can result from a clash of protesters. Here is what the Edah had to say: "If they insist on flaunting themselves we will be forced to come out in force against them,"
I understand the visceral feelings involved. But why must violence be the answer? The Gerrer Rebbe has it right here. His approach is the sensible one. Not Rabbi Moshe Strernbuch and his Edah. The Gerrer Rebbe has advised his Chasidim to ignore the parade if it happens. The Edah after considering this approach, rejected it.
If there is a clash, who knows what will happen. It is a lose/lose situation. Nobody wins if people get hurt. Ask Yishai Schlissel, from Kiryat Sefer. In one such protest Mr. Schlissel “acted”. And the results were that he was “convicted of attempted murder for stabbing and lightly-to-moderately wounding three parade participants.” How did he win? How did his family win? Did he prevent anything? No. He just tried to commit murder. And he’s paying a heavy price for his zealotry.
As I’ve said in the past. I have nothing but sympathy for the plight of people who are naturally attracted to members of the same sex. And I do not have a prejudiced bone in my body against them. I welcome them into my home and into my life. An individual’s sexual preferences do not concern me. One cannot help what one is attracted to. But one can help what he does about it. And that’s the difference between what is right and wrong about our attitudes with respect to homosexuals.
Unfortunately there is often a visceral reaction to gay behavior which transfers to the homosexual individuals themselves, even when they do not act on those urges. The Torah calls it a Toevah. That word best translates to a disgusting act. But to someone who is attracted to members of the same sex. It is another story. They do not see it that way. But as observant Jews they understand that the Torah forbids acting on those forbidden desires just as it forbids a heterosexual to act on his or her forbidden desires. Some of which have the same death penalty attached as the homosexual acts. It’s all about serving God and doing His will. Where we stand sexually doesn’t really matter.
This is why I so strongly object to a campaign by Israel’s Ministry of Tourism. They are embarking on an advertising campaign to attract practicing homosexuals to visit Israel. The image in an advertisement of two men wearing Kipot about to kiss in an obviously sexual manner with Jerusalem in the background is beyond disgusting. Not because of the Taavah… the desire… to act on illicit feelings, but because they are about to engage in illicit acts.
This is not about tolerance of one’s sexuality. This about tolerating the lifestyle.It is about normalizing and even glorifying it. And it’s wrong. I understand the ministry of tourism’s desire to increase the number of tourists. That is after all one of Israel’s main economic staples. But this is not the way to do it. Israel is not called the holy land for nothing. Israel cannot advertise the Kotel as the holiest site in Israel and in the same breath beckon gay tourists to come and do their thing there. It is the height of hypocrisy. It is a contradiction to every thing holy that Israel stands for. And this campaign ought to stop. It would behoove every citizen in Israel who cares about ithe sanctity of the land to make it known how they feel to their elected representatives in the Knesset. The Kenesset has the power to stop it. And as the duly elected representative body in a democracy they should follow the will of the people, no matter what their own personal views are.
