Anti-LGBTQ Extremists Send Death Threats to Jerusalem Pride Parade Organizers, Lawmaker
Threats sent from anonymous social media accounts say “You will go in the way of Shira Banki,” referring to the murder of a teenage Pride parade participant 7 years ago.
Several LGBTQ rights activists, including Jerusalem Pride parade organizers and Knesset member Naama Lazimi, have received death threats.
“We will not allow the Pride parade to take place in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a holy city. The fate of Shira Banki waits for you,” read the threats sent on Wednesday morning.
The Jerusalem Pride parade is set to take place on Thursday, June 2.
The social media accounts from which the threatening messages were sent are under the name “Yishai Schlissel brothers,” a tribute to the ultra-Orthodox extremist who stabbed and killed 15-year-old Shira Banki during the Jerusalem Pride parade seven years ago, and stabbed several other participants. Schlissel carried out the stabbing attack during the 2016 Pride parade, days after his release from prison where he was incarcerated for another stabbing attempt, during the 2006 Jerusalem Pride parade.
Death threats tweeted against Jerusalem Pride parade organizers. (Screenshot)
LGBTQ activists accused the Israel Police of not taking the necessary precautions in 2016, leading to Schlissel’s deadly assault.
This is the second time this year that Pride parade organizers in Israel have faced death threats.
“No doubt, this is a very disturbing message. On the other hand, it’s an important reminder of the importance of having the parade in Jerusalem,” said Emuna Klein Barnoy, one of the organizers of the Jerusalem Pride parade, and a community director at the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance. “I believe the answer to this incitement is that anyone who supports freedom, equality and pluralism will come to march with us tomorrow.”
Knesset lawmaker Naama Lazimi of the Labor Party also got threatening messages tweeted at her on Wednesday morning.
“There’s a straight line between the dangerous nationalism and conservatism here, and the death threats to Pride parade participants,” she said, adding “we’ll be at the parade tomorrow with our heads lifted high.”
Lazimi says she filed a complaint with the chief security officer of the Knesset. The Knesset spokesman did not respond to The Media Line’s request for information on the complaint in time for publication.
The Israel Police confirmed to The Media Line that a complaint about the threat was filed, and said that it is being investigated by the Jerusalem division.
“The police will do what it can to minimize disturbance to urban life during the parade, while making sure the march, which thousands of people are expected to participate in, goes as planned. In addition, police will secure the protest [against the march] nearby, safeguarding its participants and protecting freedom of expression,” the Israel Police said in a statement published on Wednesday.
This year will mark the 20th Pride parade in Jerusalem, which first began in 2002. The parade in Jerusalem has remained controversial, since it takes place in the city that is considered holy by all the major religions in Israel. Right-wing religious activists protest against it every year, and violent attacks have taken place frequently. Protests against the parade are set to take place at Thursday’s parade; Israel Police officers say they intend to separate the demonstrators from parade participants.
LGBTQ rights in Israel have come a long way in the last 20 years, yet it is still impossible for same sex couples to get married in the country. While public support for equal rights for the LGBTQ community is growing, the topic is still considered controversial, and Pride parades in cities other than Tel Aviv often lead to dispute. The parade in the southern city of Netivot was canceled this year after death threats were sent to the organizers, including a bullet left by the door of the main organizer.
