The+Gay+Pride+Parade+in+Jerusalem

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 * __English Bagrut Project__**
 * __By: Merav Abramowitz and Raya Lanin__**


 * __The Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem__**


 * __What Are the Different Issues Surrounding the Gay Pride Parade?__**

=**__Rationale__**=

We chose to write about the Gay Agenda, and the Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem, because it was a highly discussed subject at school, during the week of the planned parade, and we felt that no real answer surfaced during the course of discussions, concerning the controversy. We therefore decided to research the issues surrounding Gay Pride, and religious reactions to it in general, and the Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem and reactions to it in particular.

=__**What is the agenda behind the Gay Pride Parade? What rights are they fighting for**__?=

The first question that comes into any mind when seeing the Gay Pride Parade, or hearing about it, is “Why? What is it for?” We decided to ask our acquaintance, a gay man, what he thinks the parades are for. In his reply he explained what he understood of it. “I've never been part of a march, but what I understand is that marching is not a "fight for our rights". The marching has got to do with Gay pride. We march because we're proud of being who we are and we want to show that. I think that it is done so we can feel better about ourselves. So other gays that are in the closet can say "Look, there are other people like me and they're proud!" At least, that's what my personal opinion about the marches is. And about the rights, well we just want the same rights as straight people. We want to be able to get married and adopt.”

In another letter, he also stated that though he thinks the parades are positive (“I love the idea of having an event that brings the gay community together to show their pride. I think it is important for us to show that we are proud of being who we are.”) He also states there is a negative side, which does not necessarily correspond with the Gay Agenda- “**But** I don't agree with the way it is carried out. I think that those marches give a wrong image about who we are. We do not all like to go out in thongs and get drunk on the streets. I think people that have no contact with the gay community get a wrong idea of who we are when they see those marches. Of course, that there are a lot of gay men that wear leather all the time and like to show off their bodies with revealing outfits, but we're all not like that.”

Gay Pride, according to Wikipedia, is “that people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity, that sexual diversity is a gift, and that sexual orientation and gender identity are inherent and cannot be intentionally altered.”

So that answers the “Why?”. But it opens a lot of new questions, some of which we will refer to later.

=**__What are the Rabbinical Opinions About the Gay Agenda?__**=

The Gay Agenda is seemingly innocent. It is odd, then, that there are opposing sides, on behalf of the rabbis, who are supposed to be righteous. It is also said that all rabbis oppose homosexual relationships, let alone their agenda. Is this true?

It is written in Sefer Va’ikra, (the part of the Bible called Leviticus 18, 22: ואת זכר לא תשכב משכבי אישה, תועבה היא" ” – “You must not have sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman”. This verse clearly disallows male gay relationships. So, how is it that there are orthodox gay men? Also, the laws of the Bible apply to Jews alone. What are the rabbinical opinions about the gay agenda- when it does not apply to our own people?

Most Orthodox rabbis say it is wrong to be gay. The reasoning behind this is that it is clearly stated in the Bible that gay (male) relationships are prohibited. The prohibition concerning women is brought in the Talmud (the Gmara). According to Rabbi Meir Zuckerman, people with physical attraction to the same sex as themselves need to be brave, and not do an act that is prohibited in the Bible, or by chaza”l. “Is there room for gay pride?” he asks. “I don’t believe so. I will explain my position. If a man were attracted, for example, to little girls. Even if the community understands his difficult position, they would expect him to conquer his feelings, and not bring forth his attraction in unorthodox ways. Would it make sense for him to be proud of his attraction?”

The laws of Judaism apply, as is implied in the name, only to the Jews. According to that, you would think that the Jewish view of Homo-Lesbian relationships would not carry over to the Non-Jews. Harav Meir Zukerman says differently. “In Genesis, as a prologue to the terrible Mabul (flood) the Bible speaks of the corruption of the men of the earth- corruption in the sexual field, according to many mefarshim (commentators). The men before the flood were not Jews- no such term existed back then. Hense, the prohibition of corruption in the sexual field is not only given to the Jews, but to all of Mankind.”

We do not know why there are rabbis who allow gay relationships, and even marriage, but we do know that those who prohibit it have reason to do so. We hope this article cleared up some of the confusion in that area.

=__How do the Gay Agenda and the Jewish Opinion Come Together in Regard to the Gay Parade in Jerusalem?__=

In the two previous articles we discussed the different aspects of Gay Pride. But how do the two come together in the Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem? What effect does the actual city have on the agenda and its opposers?

Another question that is asked is ‘why do they [the gay community] care so much about having it in Jerusalem? Why don’t they do it in Tel-Aviv, where they don’t have to risk being stabbed?’

According to Habait Hapatu’ach – the Open House, the organization that organizes the Parades, the purpose concurs very much with the Gay Agenda. They say that Tel Aviv is already open to the Gay Community, and hence needs no Parade to make them understand that the gays are here to stay. But they want to be able to walk in the capital of the state of Israel, as is their right, and show the world who they are.

Another reason for the parade taking place in Jerusalem is expressed by Yonatan Leibowitz in an article he wrote for the Jerusalem Post. “We will march,” he writes, “So that a 16-year-old Jerusalemite won’t grow up to hate himself if he discovers he’s gay.” Furthermore, he says that, “It’s about saying that sinat hinam - senseless hatred – has destroyed Jerusalem, but that love, respect, and tolerance can elevate us.”

This, as the Gay Agenda itself, seems innocent, and good willed. But what will the Rabbis have to say?

Before we get to actual rabbinical opinions, we wish to bring a different stand, that of Uri Lupolianski, Mayor of Jerusalem. In an article written for the Jerusalem Post, he writes about the fragile balance in Jerusalem, one that can easily be disrupted. “The demand to hold the march in Jerusalem, of all places, is neither right, nor wise.” He states. “The decision to hold it in the Holy City, the capital of the Jewish people, did not stem from ignorance or stupidity. It was deliberate. The organizers of the march were well aware that only in Jerusalem would this march make the headlines, as well as arousing so much anger and pain and prompting unnecessary hatreds and disturbances.” Furthermore he states that in a democratic society the sensitivities of the majority must also be taken into account, not just those of the minority.

The opinions of the orthodox rabbis, as was obvious, are not varied from their views on the Gay Agenda. They do not approve of such behavior in general, and having it done in public, in the streets of Jerusalem, the holy City, no less, they fond hurtful and disgraceful. In this opinion they are agreed with both the Vatican and the Muslim Authorities. For the three religions to come together in something is truly a rare moment. That it should happen in this account must mean something. It could mean that it is wrong to be gay, or it can mean that religion is stuck in the last century, and does not progress with the rest of the world. Different people will see it through different eyes.

Those are the opinions surrounding the parade. But whether or not being gay, and proud enough to march around Jerusalem is good or bad remains a mystery yet.

=**__Creative Piece__**=

Image by Raya Lanin.

For the creative piece, we decided to make a picture collage. We started by putting in pictures of flag, waving peacefully on top of the city buildings – in order to represent the Gay Community's wish for peace and tranquility. Their wish for the right to legally start a family.

Then we put in pictures of the protests – of people holding signs, and of gay men and women riding down the streets of LA, to show that the gay community has been wronged, and that they are willing to fight for their right to live as any other human being.

At the end, we added pictures of the less appropriate parts of the march, of drag, and of sexual contact in public. We wanted to say that, though the cause behind the Gay Pride Parade may be innocent and pure, but the fact remains that oftentimes, the marches are not so pure and innocent.

Finally, we mixed the pictures in amongst themselves, and blended them into the Six-Colored Flag that represents gay pride, in order to symbolize that all these different sides are tangled together in a big knot that is the Gay Pride Parades. Less subtly we added text, 'Gay pride; good or evil' in order to convey our dismay over the dilemma.

=**__Conclusion__**=

We feel we touched upon the most significant of the issues surrounding the Gay Pride Parade. We apologize that we did not refer to all issues or opinions that might have been brought up. We did ask rabbis for their opinions about the view of the Halacha on the gay agenda and received honest answers. We feel that most of our questions were answered but not all of them. We wish we could get answers for all the questions, but we do have a good idea what the opinions are, on this issue. We don't have an absolute answer to the question of whether or not the Gay Pride Parade, and Gay Pride in general are good or evil, but that is not what we set out to do. We set out to make people aware of what the issues are, and we feel we have done a good job of that.

=__**Bibliography**__=

"Gay Pride." __Wikipedia__. 11 Apr 2007. Wikipedia. 17 Dec 2006 <[|"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_pride]>.

__Jerusalem World Pride__. 09 Nov 2006. Habait Hapatuach. 10 Jan 2007 <[|http://www.worldpride.net/index.php?id=1231>.]

M, Harald. "Gay Pride and Parades to Me." 2006. (Letters attatched below.)

"מצעד הגאווה." Wikipedia. 17 mar 2007. Wikipedia. 17 Dec 2006 http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%A2%D7%93_%D7%94%D7%92%D7%90%D7%95%D7%95%D7%94

=__**Attached Letters and Articles**__= “Hi,

I would love to help you and your friend in your project, but I have never been to a gay pride march. I'm not even sure if they have one were I'm living.

I'll give it a try anyway.

I love the idea of having an event that brings together the gay community to show their pride. I think it is important for us to show that we are proud of being who we are. BUT I don't agree on the way it is carried. I think that those marches give a wrong image about who we are. We not all like to go out in thongs and get drunk on the streets.

I think people that have no contact with the gay community get a wrong idea of who we are when they see those marches. Of course, that there are a lot of gay men that wear leather all the time and like to show off their bodies with revealing outfits, but we're all not like that.

I repeat, I've never been to a gay pride march so I don't know how valid my opinion is.

If there is any other way I can help, please let me know.

Harald.”

~*~*~*~*~

“As I've told you before, I've never been part of a march, but what I understand is that marching is not a "fight for our rights". The marching is got to do with Gay pride.

We march because we're proud of being who we are and we want to show that. I think that it is done so we can feel better about ourselves. So other gays that are in the closet and see and go "Look, there are other people like me and they're proud!" At least, that's what my personal opinion about the marches is.

And about the rights, well we just want the same rights as straight people. We want to be able to get married and adopt. I think that's about it.”