Thousands march in Jerusalem Pride Parade, mark decade since deadly hate stabbing

Thousands marched in Jerusalem’s Pride Parade Thursday afternoon under tight security, as parade-goers marked a decade since the fatal stabbing of a teenage girl who partook in the annual event.

Many marchers — including President Isaac Herzog and a handful of foreign diplomats — laid wreaths and flowers as they passed the site where 16-year-old Shira Banki was murdered by a Haredi extremist in a 2015 stabbing attack that wounded six other people.

As in previous years since Banki’s murder, police closed major roads in the capital along the route of the march, blocking pedestrians from entering the area unless they wore a pink wristband, signaling their participation in the event.

Some 2,000 officers and border cops were deployed, with most manning crowd control barricades lining the streets.

The Jerusalem Open House, the organization running the parade, said the event would “reflect the spirit of the times” with Israel fighting in Gaza, hostages languishing in Hamas captivity and rising anti-LGBTQ sentiment worldwide.

Some marchers came decked out in rainbow flags, sequin-laden clothes and eye-catching makeup, while others treated the event as a protest, donning hostage families’ t-shirts and waving signs deriding Israel’s right-wing politicians.

Members of the progressive advocacy group Mehazkim, who were handing out merchandise ahead of the march, told The Times of Israel that police ordered them to remove anti-war messaging from their stand.

“We had stickers and shirts about ending the war, bringing the hostages back and ending the occupation,” said a volunteer with the group. “Police officers requested that we remove all these things or they’d force us out of the event and fine us. They also took pictures of our IDs.”

She said that police justified the decision by insisting the event was not political, even though several center-left political parties were able to freely distribute their merchandise.

During the march, a group of left-wing marchers who wore black in protest of the Gaza war also skirmished with police. Cops were filmed attempting to forcefully seize their signs. Hebrew outlets reported that one marcher was detained.

עמדו עם שלטים בצעדה בירושלים והשוטרים אלימים נגדם – קרעו שלטים pic.twitter.com/1RjdjKVV6Z

— לירי בורק שביט (@lirishavit) June 5, 2025

Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Before the march kicked off, Israel Police chief Danny Levy arrived at Liberty Bell Park to “review the readiness” of officers on the scene.

“We will do everything to ensure that the march currently starting will end where it is supposed to end. This is our role — to allow the community to do what it wants to do today, to respect it,” he told reporters. Those who don’t respect it, he said, “will encounter us, resolute.”

Last year, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stopped by the march to “ensure order was being maintained.” He was met with widespread boos from attendees, who quickly gathered around a barricade separating him from the crowd. The far-right minister did not show up to this year’s parade.

During the march, many parade-goers stopped at the site of Banki’s murder, laying wreaths and flowers in her memory. Among them were several diplomats and President Herzog, who became the first serving Israeli head of state to attend Jerusalem Pride.

“We must establish a golden rule: there is absolutely no place for violence,” said Herzog. “There is no dialogue with violence. We are not willing to accept violence in our society… We demand love, respect, and equality — also for the LGBTQ+ community, which is an inseparable part of Israeli society.”

Uri Banki, Shira’s father, addressed marchers at the end of the parade, noting the war as he said he was one of many Israeli parents mourning for their own children.

“I am standing here today because Shira wasn’t killed in combat, she wasn’t murdered by a foreign enemy,” Banki told a crowd sitting on grassy turf in Independence Park. “Shira was murdered by an Israeli citizen on the Israeli street, as a direct result of incitement in Israel.”

The murderer, Yishai Schlissel, “wasn’t insane and wasn’t an outlier,” he continued. “He was an incensed man who is still supported today by many people. Some out of unawareness and stupidity, some in complete understanding.”

Across the street, a group of demonstrators with the far-right Lehava organization were protesting the event, which the group derided as an “abomination parade.”

Before marchers set out from Liberty Bell Park, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid decried far-right politicians who have expressed homophobic sentiments, several of whom participated in anti-LGBTQ demonstrations in years past.

“Avi Maoz can’t tell us who to love, [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir and [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich can’t tell us who to love, the Haredim and the crazy people protesting against us can’t tell us who to love,” he told a burgeoning crowd.

Lapid added that despite persisting antipathy toward the LGBTQ community, Israel has moved toward acceptance over the decade passed since Banki’s murder. He insisted that many right-wingers in Israel have made a “major change” and are increasingly tolerant of same-sex couples.

“It’s not just those who are here [at this march], it’s a Likudnik family from Ashdod, in which the gay nephew brings his partner to the Shabbat table… people who define themselves as conservative on every issue, except for this one,” he added.

He said however, that the “struggle will not end” as long as children fear to come out of the closet, and so long as outspokenly homophobic lawmaker Avi Maoz continues to “introduce homophobic material to schools.”

Jerusalem’s Deputy Mayor Yossi Havilio, who spoke immediately after Lapid, agreed with his remarks, but warned “sinister winds” augured a difficult path ahead for LGBTQ acceptance.

“Sinister winds are blowing. We see it in the US with the actions of the Trump administration against the pride community and transgender people, we see it in Europe and unfortunately we see it in Israel too, in which actors within the government want to persecute the pride community,” he said.

Havilio added that the Pride March, held for its 23rd consecutive year, was initially opposed by the Jerusalem Municipality and government, and was only able to take place in the capital as a result of a ruling by the High Court of Justice.

“This fact also underscores the importance of keeping the judicial system strong and independent, so that it will protect the rights of the citizen,” he said, referring to the government’s judicial overhaul efforts.

Lazar Berman contributed to this report.