Tens of Thousands Attend Tel Aviv Rally for Gay Shooting Victims

At least 25,000 and perhaps as many as 70,000 people gathered in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square this evening for a rally in solidarity with Israel's LGBT community in honor of the victims of last weekend's shooting at a gay youth center in the city.

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, President Shimon Peres,  Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar, family members of victims, and prominent Israeli LGBT leaders spoke at the event, which also featured performances by Yehuda Poliker, Dana International, Ivri Lider, Ninet Tayeb, Corin Alal, Keren Peles and Margalit Tzanani, according to Haaretz.

Said Peres: "The shots which struck this proud community affected us all as human beings, as Jews and as Israelis. The man who targeted the two victims targeted all of us...Everyone has the right to be different and proud. Noone has the right to interfere in other people's lives so long as everyone respects law and order. I came to share your tears after the death of two young innocents. Be strong and courageous."

Nir Katz, 26, and Liz Trubeshi, 16, were killed in the shooting by a lone gunman, who injured 15 others.

The gunman is still at large.

Two of those injured in the shooting spoke at tonight's rally: "Uri Gil, who was injured during the attack on the center, took the stage at the rally together with his friend Chen Langer and said, 'That place was a warm and loving home for them and they met wonderful people there....This past week I have been haunted by nightly fear, especially when I think that the murderer is walking around out there,' he added. 'No murderer will keep us in the closet.' Chen Langer, a youth counselor at the center who was also injured in the attack, arrived in a wheelchair and spoke after Gil. 'This is the day in which we cease to be silent, to hide, and to alter the appearance of reality.' Langer tearfully added, 'The home that was a place of security for youths became a slaughterhouse of youths.'

Haaretz reports that threats were made before tonight's rally: "Earlier Saturday, a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces' Nahal Haredi unit was arrested on suspicion that he had threatened rally organizers on an online forum. While in custody, the soldier confessed to making the threats. Meanwhile, operators of transportation to the Tel Aviv rally received telephone threats from an anonymous caller who warned that grenades will be hurled at attendants of the rally. "

Watch video of this evening's rally including a performance by popular gay Israeli pop star Ivri Lider, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Gay Israeli Singer Ivri Lider Discusses Military Strongarm

Israeli singer Ivri Lider, who says he was "chosen the last three years as the favorite artist among soldiers," talks about the government's recent actions barring him from performing for failing to complete his military service (he was discharged), and the statement he refused to sign:

"They just called in the middle of the week and were like, 'We want you to sign this paper.'I said, 'Listen, I want to cooperate. I want you to be comfortable with this, but I can't sign something like this.' I think asking an artist to sign a letter that starts with the word love -- 'I love the army' -- is a little confusing. The word love is maybe not the right word to use. And at the end of the letter they had this part saying that I will be obligated to donate shows every year. It was a little insulting—it's something I've been doing for the last 10 years with no one asking me, just because I wanted to. And suddenly this commander will take all the credit? That was just not acceptable to me."

More with Lider at OUT.

Background
Ivri Lider Blacklisted from Performing for Israeli Military

Ivri Lider Blacklisted from Performing for Israeli Military

Gay Israeli singer Ivri Lider is one of a few artists who have been barred from performing for Israeli troops because the military says he has failed to complete his military service:

"...three days before a gala concert for 10,000 soldiers Sunday night, the 33-year-old star was dropped from the lineup. The abrupt cancellation was a result of the army's disappointing call-up this summer, which yielded the fewest draftees in five years. Worried Israeli leaders are now moving to stigmatize entertainers and other celebrity role models who have failed to complete mandatory military service. Lider, who was discharged from the army after serving one month, is one of the first to feel the backlash. 'The fact that those who do not serve in the military can become cultural heroes is worrying,' Maj. Gen. Elazar Stern, the army's personnel director, told a recent meeting of state broadcast regulators."

Israeli officals are reportedly concerned because of a decline in call-up to military service:

"The campaign to tighten conscription, the most concerted here in years, has stirred a national debate about security and values. Blacklisting is the most controversial part of it, widely criticized as a witch hunt. Some of those singled out were legally discharged from the army but are nonetheless being branded as evaders. 'Artists are constantly being asked to perform for the public benefit, but on a hot-potato issue they can become easy targets and be branded as public enemies,' said Rami Fortis, a prominent singer not on the blacklist. 'What is happening is frightening.'"

Lider's spokesperson Roni Arditi said that the military has demanded Lider sign a letter that says "Ivri Lider loves the IDF and respects its values."

Arditi added: "Ivry Lider was enlisted to the army and was released by the army for medical reasons, according to the law. For the past 10 years, Lider has voluntarily performed in front of soldiers. There is no place for such a thing (the IDF's letter) in a democracy."

Left: Lider's video for his recent single "Jesse". In 2005, Lider won the "Male Singer of the Year" award from Israel's major national and local radio stations. He has sold over 160,000 albums.

Israel's military shame campaign [la times]
No gigs for dodgers [ynet]