Jerusalem of pride Jerusalem of pride

Pride parade to stump for rights in capital

Annual event takes place Thursday evening, bringing supporters of all stripes into the street

By Jessica Steinberg
  • Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
 30 July 2015, 3:45 pm
At the 2014 Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem (Photo credit: Hadas Parush/Flash 90)

Jerusalem’s annual Gay Pride March, with its 5,000 expected participants, isn’t quite as large as its counterpart in Tel Aviv, but it aims to bring just as much openness to a city often derided as a religious backwater.

The 14th annual event taking place Thursday evening, organized by the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance, is dedicated this year to transgender visibility and public awareness.

While parades in the past were sometimes disturbed by protesters, the events have been “smooth and quiet in recent years,” said Tom Canning, director of development for the Open House.

The local police are out in force, said Canning, and there are usually only a few demonstrators engaging in minor altercations.

This year brings a large contingent of straight, religious females, marching with the Religious, Straight-Supporting! group to advocate for the city’s LGBT community.

The parade, which begins at 5 p.m. at Jerusalem’s Independence Park and ends at 8:30 p.m. at Liberty Bell Park, is the final event in the city’s Pride Week, which included educational and celebratory events for the city’s LGBT community.

Working on the city’s transgender flags, a first for a city, according to the Open House (Courtesy Open House Instagram account)

Besides an evening of unofficial same sex marriages at the Open House, lectures and drinks nights at local LGBT bars, there is an ongoing exhibit of artworks about the transgender community at the First Station.

“We’re hoping for a great turnout,” said Canning.

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