He has been the target of repeated death threats, according to the main organizer of the upcoming Jerusalem Pride parade.
The Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance said on Sunday that it had reported several threats to police ahead of a June 1 event in the capital.
“We have grown accustomed to the LGBT community being the subject of hatred and evil by extremist groups and individuals,” Open House executive director Alon Schachter said in a statement. “The parade will go ahead without question, and there will be room for everyone – all those who believe in love, tolerance, freedom and equality.”
Shacher said he is asking police to address every such threat “to ensure the safety of marchers and to allow the parade to evacuate safely.”
Unlike its Tel Aviv counterpart, the Jerusalem Pride parade is the subject of heavy security and restrictions after an ultra-Orthodox extremist stabbed teenage marcher Shira Banki to death at the parade in 2015.
According to Open House, one of the threats it received read: “I hope Jesse Schlissel will be there to finish the work he started… How can you celebrate this mental illness?” Are.”
People look at a photo of Shira Banki, who was murdered by an ultra-Orthodox extremist in March in 2015, at a Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem on June 3, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Schlissel calls the 2015 attack just a a few weeks He was released from prison after serving 10 years for stabbing and harming marchers at a 2005 parade. He is currently serving a life sentence in prison.
Open House also shared a separate threatening email it recently received, which read: “Your place is not on the wall but in the tree – hanging from a very thick rope and in the town square for all to see.” has been hoisted.”
similar threats are built next to last year’s paradeand a suspect arrested before the incident. About 10 people were arrested throughout the day on suspicion of planning to attack the march.
This year’s parade is set for June 1 and will be the start of a series of national events marking LGBTQ Pride Month.
At last year’s event, then-Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy became the first person to address a gay pride parade. It is unclear whether current Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, the first gay man to hold that role, will participate in the events this year. Ohana, serving as Minister of Justice in 2019 marched in the capital.
Knesset Speaker Miki Levy speaks at the annual Jerusalem Pride Parade in Independence Park on June 2, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
This year’s march is also expected to attract a small counter-protest of extremists – an event attended by current Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister in the past. itmar ben gvir, Smotrich was one of the organizers of a “Beast Parade” that aimed to compare members of the LGBTQ community to animals, which he later expressed regret.
Violent opposition to LGBTQ MK AV Mauj said last year that he would “make sure” to cancel the annual Jerusalem Pride parade after joining the government, a claim Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against at the time.
Last month, Mao – who has made anti-LGBTQ activities a hallmark of his Noam party platform – said he was “embarrassed” Ohana’s husband to attend official state events, to minimize their presence together as an “adventurous principle” against Jewish norms.
