Flyers posted in Meah Sha’arim, an ultra-orthodox Haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem, offer NIS 20,000 to “anyone who brings about the death of one of the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah.”
Although the Haredi community denies responsibility for the violent call to action, it was a Haredi protestor who last year stabbed three people marching in the Gay Pride parade. Some in the Haredi community are calling the pamphlets a “practical joke” but Jerusalem officials are not amused.
Said Jerusalem city councilman Sa’ar Netanel (Meretz): “This is a worrying escalation and a license to kill.” When Netanel, who is the owner of a gay bar, arrived in the neighborhood to document the flyers with a film crew, he was forced to leave by angry residents.
WorldPride 2006 is scheduled to take place in Jerusalem on August 10th, irking religious leaders, and “in an uncharacteristic show of unanimity, the Jewish, Muslim and Christian clerics of Jerusalem have united in calling for a ban to a projected Gay Parade in the Holy City.” Haredi rabbis have said they “will prevent the Pride Parade at any price.”
Prize offered to whoever kills gay person [ynet]
Previously
Stabbings at Jerusalem Pride [tr]
