Working to Stop the Gay Pride Event 

in the Holy Land

Kad-Esh MAP Ministries

USA: PO Box 540271, Grand Prairie, TX 75054

Israel: PO Box 590, Jerusalem 91004

Telephone: +972 523 781 553 Fax: + 972 2 533 3534

karenmap@netvision.net.il    www.kad-esh.org

Updated June 23, 2006 (see below)

Dearly beloved lovers of The God of Israel, His People and His Land:

The following is an update from Arutz 7 about the Gay Pride Parade planned for Jerusalem this August. Please notice the fax number of Mayor Uri Lupiliansky -(+9722) 6296014, and please bombard him with faxes, make sure that you send this email to ALL your lists. We have precious and no time to waste.

Together for the Name of YAH and The Holiness of His City.

Bishop Dominiquae Bierman

Working to Stop the Gay Pride Event in the Holy Land

By Hillel Fendel

A group of women from the Jerusalem area and other cities have banded together, collecting signatures, speaking to politicians, and trying to drum up opposition to the parade from religious leaders.

In addition, Rabbi Yehuda Levin, of the Jews for Morality organization, has arrived for his sixth privately-funded trip to Israel in the past two and a half years, all dedicated to one goal: Stopping the World Pride event from being held in Jerusalem, and in Israel at all.

Tamar Yonah hosted Rabbi Levin and women of the above group on her IsraelNationalRadio.com radio program yesterday. "This thing is not just any march," Yonah said, "but a weeklong event - and it even includes a Youth Day! I mean, what the heck is that? What do they want with our youth?!"

"They're not simply demanding equal rights," Tamar said, "which could be understandable. They're actually showing pride in their sexual choice, and based on photos from other parades, they dress very scantily and exhibit physical erotic contact on the streets. Is this what we want on the streets of Jerusalem?"

Rebecca, one of the concerned women who are collecting signatures - not by internet; send email here  (yes2values@gmail.com) for information - said that Jerusalem City Councilwoman Mina Fenton has said that 50,000 signatures would make a big difference. "It will show the police, for instance, that the event could turn into a major security headache," she said, "and is just not worth it."

"I want to make it clear," Rebecca noted, "that this is not a homophobic issue; if the Mardi Gras, a heterosexual event, were to be held here, we would object with the same vociferousness. The reason is because Jerusalem is the spiritual dimension of the world; it is a spiritual jewel to the world, and we don't want it tarnished... We want to show that the majority of the people in this city do not want sexuality paraded arounded without modesty or dignity. In addition, homosexuality in particular is not something that we want to see advocated in our holy city."

Rebecca said that her co-activists are "a large and growing group of women, of all types -secular, hareidi, and religious-Mizrachi; we should not be underestimated."

Rabbi Levin had some advice for the women, as well as some strong words against the Mayor of Jerusalem:

"I want to, first of all, salute you for your work. All eyes are upon your efforts, so remain strong... Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky [a member of the hareidi-religious community] cannot excuse himself from further efforts merely by having been the first one to sign your petition. The petition has to make it clear that we're not just asking nicely not to hold the event in Jerusalem, but that if they dare to have it here, we will all of us - 50,000 people - be out on the streets to protest, and that there will be confrontations."

"I also hope there is no thought of a compromise," Rabbi Levin said, "such as holding it in Tel Aviv instead. Because their goal is to make this event a kick-off to make Tel Aviv, and by extension, all of Israel, into a world capital of international homosexual tourism. I hope we're saying that we will not have this anywhere in Israel; it's offensive anywhere in the Holy Land."

Another activist woman, Sherry, said, "Last year, the representative of the Vatican said that Jerusalem is a city of humble people, who bow down to G-d, and this is no place for a Pride parade of any kind. I think this is a statement that resonates."

Rabbi Levin said, "I certainly hope that the Catholic Church will do the right thing and speak out, but I just want to point out that in the end, the authorities are not really interested in our word games and in the relation between pride and humility; the only thing they understand is political power, and they better know that the religious public of Jerusalem will vote for anyone other than a religious representative who is not out there on the streets against this event. This must be your message, and I hope you don't allow any wiggle room for politicians to make compromises or hold photo-ops that make it seem as if they're doing something."

Rabbi Levin had strong words against Chief Rabbi Metzger who pushed off a discussion on the issue in favor of efforts to find a compromise, with the rabbinate consequently taking no action:

"Shame on rabbis who want to find a compromise with a Torah commandment. I'm pleading with you now: remember that politicians will twist you around, and remember that each one in City Hall is a politician first and a religious Jew second...

"Gay Pride parades have been stopped in Warsaw, Tiberias, and Moscow, but Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky has done precious little about this; he barely mentions anything about it. You gave him an honor by allowing him to sign first, but you have to tell him that if he doesn't work with you strongly to stop this openly and publicly, you'll hold a press conference to cross off his name from the top of the list. Tell him that you don't need his name at the top, but we rather need people who are doing things!"

But Rabbi Levin saves his strongest criticism for those who claim to be religious, yet promote homosexuality as a legitimate choice. "They are actively promoting homosexuality among the young, and for this, there can be no forgiveness," he said in a separate interview.

Rabbi Levin said that some Knesset Members - such as Tzvi Hendel, Effie Eitam, Yitzchak Levy, Nissim Ze'ev, and Benny Elon - "promised me they would lie on the streets if it comes to that." But there are others, he said, specifically from United Torah Judaism, for whom he had very sharp criticism "for not having their rabbinic leaders light a fire under their tails and tell them not to come back to the Knesset if they can't stand up. In addition, some of them are dissemblers who don't tell the whole story to their leaders, because they are more concerned with their political careers."

Tamar Yonah noted that Mayor Lupoliansky can be faxed at (+9722) 6296014. "If he has thousands of anti-Gay Pride parade faxes on his desk," the show's guests agreed, "this will give him the strength to know that people will follow him if he will just lead."

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Updated June 23, 2006

Shalom dearly beloved:

More on stopping the Pride Parade in the Holy City of Jerusalem, from Arutz 7. Notice the importance of praying for the Muslims to rise up against it! In that case the Israeli police would listen and it would be a common ground for friendship between religious Jews and Moslems that normally do not "sit together". Joining on the issue of God's Commandments is a very healthy common ground indeed!

Keep praying

Bishop Dominiquae Bierman

Fenton, of the National Religious Party faction, has also gathered the signatures of 25city council members on a petition opposing the holding of the week-long World Pride events in Jerusalem. Six councilmen, members of the Shinui and Meretz parties, did not sign.

The Gay Pride event actually includes a "Youth Day" at the Knesset. The World Pride internet site bills it as "Bringing Order to the Knesset: National and International Summit Meeting for Youth." To be held on Monday, Aug. 7, its promotional literature states,

"Youth on the map! After this day, it will be impossible to ignore us. Everyone will understand and remember for a long, long time that the proud [Hebrew gaieh] youth has what to be proud of... Ages 15-25 - boys, girls, lesbians, homos, trans, bi, those who are hesitating, and friends, come to take part in this exciting youth day, a joint production of the Open House and the Israeli Gay Youth Organization, which will be held in the Knesset... Two-way transportation from all over the country... We will meet lots of pals from all over Israel and the world, and we'll sit together to work out important subject that are very relevant to our daily lives as students, soldiers... youth with ideals and values. After lunch, we will meet with elected representatives of all stripes, and we will present them with our 'I Believe' about the life of gaieh youth in Israel. And at the end of the day: 'Good Jerusalem Children' -- the greatest youth party in Israel..."

Rabbi Yehuda Levin, of the Brooklyn-based Jews for Morality organization, is now in Israel for the express purpose of trying to stop the parade from happening. He led a press conference on Monday, together with Israeli-Arab MK Sheikh Tzartzur, Rabbi Menachem Fruman and others, calling for a "hudna" [ceasefire] in the current Israeli-PA conflict in order to fight a common battle for traditional values.

Though several international news agencies showed up, Rabbi Levin expressed great disappointment that Al-Jazeera and others were not among them. "It's important for us to get this message out to the Moslem world," he said, "for several reasons. Their enthusiastic cooperation in this matter can be very helpful in convincing the police that there is a security risk involved in allowing the parade to be held." Rabbis from Italy, Russia and Venezuela also participated, as did Sheikhs Tamimi and Hamed Bitawi by phone.

Rabbi Fruman - a resident of the Yesha community of Tekoa - later explained to Arutz-7 that allowing the parade in Jerusalem would increase Moslem hatred for the "Jewish infidels who allow the Holy Land to be polluted in this manner. I have long felt that the conflict between us is a religious one... A prominent Sheikh just spoke last week very strongly against homosexuals - the Al-Alwatim, they call them, in the name of the Biblical Lot, even though Lot actually tried to prevent a homosexual attack... I feel very strongly that having the parade could increase the risk of Arab attacks against Israel - possibly on the day of the parade itself, and possibly afterwards."

City Council members say that their signatures against the Pride March "are merely to create public pressure" but have no concrete value. Councilwoman Fenton told Arutz-7, "We, as a city, have no authority to cancel the march. The only ones who can do it are the Supreme Court and the police. If the police feel that the parade is too big of a security risk, they can call it off."

City Councilman Yair Gabbai, also of the NRP faction, agrees: "We can make decisions, but the Supreme Court in the past has nullified them on the grounds of freedom of speech."

Less than a month ago, District Court Judge Yehudit Tzur ruled that the city had set discriminatory standards in its cultural funding practices, and ordered it to pay the Open House for Pride and Tolerance - a homosexual center - 350,000 shekels in back payments. The ruling was viewed as providing impetus for the gay pride event scheduled for this summer.

Shifra Hoffman, head of the Victims of Arab Terror organization, is another activist who opposes the parade, "To flaunt something as obscene as this in our Holy City is something we cannot afford in our relationship with G-d," she said this week. "What we hope to do is to put pressure on rabbis and leaders - even though they should be pressuring us. We have to threaten to lie in the streets if this parade happens. It has to be clear that thousands of people will bodily block this march."

A grassroots group of women (click here for article) who are active in trying to cancel the parade/march notes that its correct email address for information and showing solidarity is now "yes2familyvalues@gmail.com".

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WE are ONE!!!

ricoel@thebodyofmessiah.com