Police to extremists: Stay away from Tel Aviv Gay Pride parade

Police have issued a string of cautionary phone calls to far-right extremists in recent days warning them to stay away from Friday’s Gay Pride parade in Tel Aviv, in an attempt to ensure events go ahead peacefully.

According to Channel 2, police hope to avoid any repetition of last year’s events at the Jerusalem parade when radical ultra-Orthodox Jew Yishai Schlissel went on a stabbing spree, killing 16-year-old Shira Banki and wounding several others.

On Wednesday police requested restraining orders to keep a group of right-wing extremists away from the event, but judges rejected the move, saying there was not enough evidence to support it.

This apparently led authorities to take the somewhat unorthodox phone-call approach.

Channel 2 on Thursday aired a recording of a police officer trying by phone to convince a far-right activist to sign a statement that he would not attend the Tel Aviv parade. The officer warned that “any active attempt to harm, threaten or harass constitutes a crime.”

The officer could be heard asking: “Are you planning to be in the Tel Aviv area on June 3 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.?” The activist answered in the negative.

Far-right lawyer Itamar Ben Gvir, who is known for defending Jewish extremists, blasted police actions, telling Channel 2 on Thursday: “Let’s assume that the same activists wanted to stage a protest opposite the gay parade. So what? Is it forbidden to demonstrate? Forbidden to protest? I understand the trauma for the police after the foul-up last year, but they mustn’t be drawn to the opposite extreme.”

Last Thursday police arrested a former prisoner after he spoke to friends about the need to attack members of the LGBT community, and justified Shira Banki’s murder.

The 27-year-old Jerusalem resident is under house arrest, Israel Radio reported, and police were planning to ask the Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court to order him to report to a police station before the start of each of a number of upcoming Gay Pride marches throughout the country.

Tens of thousands of revelers are expected to turn out Friday for Tel Aviv’s annual Gay Pride parade in temperatures set to hit 34° Celsius (93° Fahrenheit).

More than 180,000 people, including 30,000 tourists, are expected at the annual event, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The rainbow flags are already up in the city that never stops as Tel Aviv prepares for one of the biggest Gay Pride events in the world.

This year’s parade will emphasize the increasing visibility of gay women and their struggle for equal rights, Maariv reported Wednesday.

Among the participants will be male and female reservists from the Israeli army’s artillery regiment, marching in support of battalion colleagues from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual (LGBT) community, Ynet reported.

The Tel Aviv parade was off-limits to soldiers, even out of uniform, until 2003.

The parade, the highlight of a week of gay community celebrations and events in Tel Aviv, will be formally opened by Tel Aviv-Jaffa Mayor Ron Huldai. Events kick off at 10 a.m., with the actual parade setting off at noon from Gan Meir and ending at around 5 p.m. at the beachfront Charles Clore Garden. Selected main roads in the city will be closed from 8 a.m.