Shas Chairman Eli Yishai slams Gay Pride event and its organizers.
By JPOST.COM STAFFeli yishai 298(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
"If it was up to me, I would send the gay community, who insisted on celegbrating in Jerusalem, to Sodom and Gomorrah," said Shas Chairman Eli Yishai on Friday.
The Shas chairman called the Open House, the organization that put on Friday's Gay Pride event in Givat Ram, "a sealed house of darkness."
Analysis: An acceptable compromise
Yishai told Israel Radio that he was "not interested in homosexuals or Lesbians in Israel at all."
When asked if he despised homosexuals, Yishai replied, "I love all Jews. My heart fills with pity for gays."
The Shas chairman spoke of an unprecedented general consensus between all religions, after Muslims and Christians had both condemned the event.
"If we cannot be sensitive to Jewish feelings, perhaps we can listen to those of other religions," he said.
Meanwhile, Jerusalem Police Chief Cmdr. Ilan Franco praised the Haredim for curbing their violent protests on the day of the event. "The haredim didn't get anything in return but, nevertheless, they proved they have a sense of responsibility."
At the event itself, prominent author Sami Michael thanked the police and condemned the haredi community's opposition to the march.
"A society that tries to 'straighten' others is crooked itself," Michael declared.
"Recently, the term 'unnatural' has been used to describe members of the [gay] community. I worked in the open for 20 years and I know what happens in nature. They [haredim] don't understand that the earth is a sort of laboratory for experiments and changes, and that nothing is 'unnatural,'" Michael added.
