Friday November 10, 2006 SGN.org |
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Volume 34 Issue 45 |
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Friday, Sep 05, 2008
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Synagogue denounces violent protests against Gay people in Jerusalem |
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| Synagogue denounces violent protests against Gay people in Jerusalem | |
| NEW YORK, NY - Anti-Gay riots have erupted in Jerusalem leading up to this Friday's Gay pride march (the fifth annual Jerusalem Pride March). Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, the North American co-chair of WorldPride and leader of the world's largest synagogue serving Jews of all sexual orientations and gender identities has released the following statement: "Once again, hatred of Gays and Lesbians is uniting a group of people who usually have nothing good to say about each other. Religious leaders from fundamentalist Orthodox Judaism, Islam and Christianity are finding common ground in homophobia and religious bigotry. They have turned a Gay pride march into a war against Gay people." "We firmly believe that tolerance is holy and that local GLBT groups, whether they are in Jerusalem, Albany or Queens, should be able to march through the streets of their communities, and without fear of bodily harm. For centuries, violence has been used to intimidate, if not obliterate, marginalized groups, including Jews and Gay people. When religious people employ these means, it is as tragic as it is predictable," said Rabbi Kleinbaum. We stand in solidarity with our partner organization, the Jerusalem Open House (JOH)-Jerusalem's GLBT community center- in calling for an end to the hate-motivated violence intended to stop next Friday's annual Gay pride march, and declaring the necessity for freedom of speech and the right to peaceful assembly for all people in Israel. The streets of Jerusalem are burning. Throughout the past week, the Ultra-Orthodox community of Jerusalem has been rioting, setting fires andthrowing stones at passing motorists, police and firefighters. Today they have called for the death of the leaders of the Jerusalem Open House, invoking the same rabbinic curse that was leveled against Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin days before his assassination. This is bigotry in the name of religion inciting violence against GLBT people. Religious bigots from other faith traditions have expressed support for these protesters and voiced similar sentiments denouncing the JOH march. CBST has launched a fundraising effort to help provide the JOH with the costs generated by the anti-Gay rioters. The unprecedented security costs, which amount to more than three times the total costs of last year's march and associated events, will cover such security measures as a makeshift field hospital and helicopter surveillance. Contributions can be made online at www.cbst.org or mailed to Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, 57 Bethune Street, New York, NY 10014. Congregation Beth Simchat Torah (CBST) is the world's largest synagogue serving Jews of all sexual orientations and gender identities. A CBST press release |
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