Tens of Thousands Come Out for Tel Aviv Pride Parade

Image by Haaretz

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv on Friday for the annual Gay Pride Parade. Organizers decided not to change the scheduled events and parade route in light of the arrests made in connection to the 2009 gay youth club shooting, and a number of public figures and politicians are scheduled to give speeches.

Finance Minister Yair Lapid received boos as he took to the stage. He responded by saying that “no shouts will put a stop to our deep commitment to the community,” and added that he intends to work to legalize same-sex marriage.

Culture Minister Limor Livnat spoke about the club shooting, saying that “even if details are not yet fully known, it is obvious that the murder of innocent youth is a hate crime.” This is the first time a representative from the Likud speaks at the Gay Pride Parade.

Following the report in Haaretz that Health Minister Yael German (Yesh Atid) is reconsidering a bill to compensate the victims of the Bar Noar shooting, on the presumption that it was a hate crime against gays, she took a different stance at the event. In an unplanned speech, she said that “it is unacceptable for youth to be hurt for doing nothing wrong, no matter what the motive is, and not be compensated.”

Read more at Haaretz.com.