Jerusalem Gay Pride Event 2006
Posted at
So at the last minute, the parade was changed into a rally, due to a compromise made between the organizers of the event and the parties who opposed it in the name of religion. I'm a little ambivalent about this change of format. On the one hand, I can understand the disappointment of those who felt that the event lost some of its significance by being confined to the Givat Ram campus stadium instead of proclaiming a message of tolerance in the public spaces. But on the other hand, I understand how pride parades have a solid history of expressing a carnival atmosphere beyond the bounds of propriety and at the expense of any valid social message. In any case, I'm happy with how the rally actually turned out.
However, I had some trouble getting to the rally at all. For the first time in my life, I've gotten harrassed for not looking gay enough. The rally was surrounded on all sides by a huge cordon of police guards stationed in small groups about every 50 meters. As I walked the not inconsiderable distance from where the bus let me off to the Hebrew University campus, I got stopped and questioned by almost every group of police that I passed. The closer I got, the more intense the scrutiny became, with longer looks at my identity card, more frisking, and more radioing into base to confirm my details. My kippah, beard, and tzitzis seemed to make it impossible for the guards to believe that I could be going to the rally because I'm actually gay and not because I'm sneaking in weapons with which to slaughter everyone inside. It reached the point where one of the officers took me aside to the nearby office of the JDC to perform a more thorough search in a "makom tzinuah" (discreet place). At this point, I'm steeling myself for a cavity search. Lucky for me (given that I didn't really find the officer so attractive), the receptionist at the lobby of the JDC office forbade the officer from taking me any further than the lobby, stating that the police were allowed to come in only to use the bathrooms. So my would-be inspector settled for a standard frisk and a full examination of everything I had in my pockets. The police apparently had finally become as tired of stopping me every three minutes as I was tired of being stopped, so my inspector became my escort to the entrance of the stadium, where I arrived without further hindrance. I guess I have this strict security to thank for the fact that the whole day passed without any violence or other disturbance.
The rally itself was really nice. The entrace was crowded with people waving placards and handing out flyers, representing all kinds of liberal political and social action groups. The music and speakers on the main stage roused the spirit, and the crowds behind the bleachers and around the various booths were warm and friendly. I noticed some nice t-shirts that read, "The path to God isn't always straight," and I am now coveting one for myself. I bumped into a couple friends while wandering around. The booths offered representatives and materials from many local and global GLBT organizations, commissaries from which to buy beer and food, and vendors selling all sorts of lovely gay books and rainbow-themed swag. I bought several books, a new knitted change purse, and a nice big flag to hang outside one of my windows at home.
As I paid for my purchases, a photographer noticed the sticker on my wallet which boldly reads, "God Made Me Gay." She snapped some shots of me, and I agreed to pose for a few more. She then questioned me briefly about how I dealt with being both religious and gay. She was really pleasant, and now I get to wonder idly if and where those photographs are being displayed now.
All and all, the rally was everything I hoped it would be, and nothing I hoped it wouldn't. I had quite a good time. Here's to next year's gay pride parade! לשנה הבאה בירושלים