Jerusalem chief rabbi demands no pride flags be waved at Gay Parade
"I trust you to act wisely to remove this disgrace from us, especially now in these holy days between Jerusalem Day and Shavuot," the letter stated.
By GADI DEUTSCH/ MAARIVMARCHERS TAKE part in the Jerusalem Pride Parade this past Sunday, as a sign in the background proclaims ‘I have no other land'(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
In a strong-worded letter, the chief rabbi of Jerusalem demanded of Mayor Moshe Lion, that no pride flags be waved during next week's Pride Parade.The rabbi, Aryeh Stern, described the parade as a disgrace and the flags as ugly.The Pride Parade in Jerusalem, stirring discussion each year both within the religious sector and between the religious sector and the LGBT community, will take place June 6, 2019."To my great regret, I request on this painful subject of the 'March,'" Stern wrote. "I know from the point of view of the law, the mayor has no ability to prevent the parade, and therefore I ask you to at least give a ruling for the flags not to be waved, as they make the city ugly.""I trust you to act wisely to remove this disgrace from us, especially now in these holy days between Jerusalem Day and Shavuot," the letter stated.In July 2018, rabbi Stern expressed his opposition to allowing child surrogacy for gay men against the background of the controversy surrounding the law passed by the Knesset.Stern said that allowing surrogacy for gay couples would cause “children to be born and enter a very strange and unnatural life, a life without a mother and father,” and that these children’s lives would become “wretched.”His comments sparked a backlash, followed by a splenetic letter signed by 200 rabbis including the senior-most leaders of the conservative wing of the national-religious movement condemning surrogacy and adoption for gays, describing homosexuals as “perverts.”
