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03-11-06, 17:40
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/783633.html
Ultra-Orthodox protests continue as Jerusalem pride parade nears
By Jonathan Lis, Yair Ettinger and Roni Singer-Haruti, Haaretz Correspondents
A group of Ultra-Orthodox protestors rioted at the Shabbat Square in Jerusalem on Friday against the possibility of the gay pride parade taking place in the city next week.
The rioters blocked off the square and torched garbage cans, and police forces were called to the scene.
Also on Friday, the Jerusalem Magistrates Court decided to delay by three days the release of four Ultra-Orthodox Jews suspected or rioting and attacking policemen on Thursday.
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Major General Ilan Franco, Jerusalem district police commander, on Thursday said that the decision on whether to allow a gay pride parade to go ahead in Jerusalem next week will not be affected by the recent clashes in the capital.
On Thursday, A police officer and a Haaretz photographer were wounded in a confrontation between ultra-Orthodox protesters and police forces in the capital, as demonstrations against the city's upcoming gay pride parade raged for the third consecutive day.
"We are first of all concerned with dispersing the protests, maintaining routine in the city and keeping roads open, and we're not yet concerning ourselves with the decision," Franco said.
The police officer sustained a head injury and the photographer, Tomer Applebaum, was lightly wounded when a stone hit him above the eye.
Parade organizers, for their part, have criticized the police's policy of telling the media on several occasions that their decision on whether to allow the march will depend on the information they receive about plans to disrupt the event.
The organizers say that this message has led anti-parade activists to believe that by threatening violence, they can convince the police to call off the march.
Some 1,000 ultra-Orthodox protesters took part in Thursday's demonstration against the parade, which is scheduled for next Friday. At the end of the demonstration, the participants marched Jerusalem's Bar-Ilan Street in an attempt to block traffic. The police deployed officers on horseback to prevent the roads from being blocked.
The organizers of the gay pride march met on Thursday evening with several rabbis at the home of city council member Nir Barkat. The meeting was initiated in order to calm the hostility between the two sides.
Ultra-Orthodox protests continue as Jerusalem pride parade nears
By Jonathan Lis, Yair Ettinger and Roni Singer-Haruti, Haaretz Correspondents
A group of Ultra-Orthodox protestors rioted at the Shabbat Square in Jerusalem on Friday against the possibility of the gay pride parade taking place in the city next week.
The rioters blocked off the square and torched garbage cans, and police forces were called to the scene.
Also on Friday, the Jerusalem Magistrates Court decided to delay by three days the release of four Ultra-Orthodox Jews suspected or rioting and attacking policemen on Thursday.
Advertisement
Major General Ilan Franco, Jerusalem district police commander, on Thursday said that the decision on whether to allow a gay pride parade to go ahead in Jerusalem next week will not be affected by the recent clashes in the capital.
On Thursday, A police officer and a Haaretz photographer were wounded in a confrontation between ultra-Orthodox protesters and police forces in the capital, as demonstrations against the city's upcoming gay pride parade raged for the third consecutive day.
"We are first of all concerned with dispersing the protests, maintaining routine in the city and keeping roads open, and we're not yet concerning ourselves with the decision," Franco said.
The police officer sustained a head injury and the photographer, Tomer Applebaum, was lightly wounded when a stone hit him above the eye.
Parade organizers, for their part, have criticized the police's policy of telling the media on several occasions that their decision on whether to allow the march will depend on the information they receive about plans to disrupt the event.
The organizers say that this message has led anti-parade activists to believe that by threatening violence, they can convince the police to call off the march.
Some 1,000 ultra-Orthodox protesters took part in Thursday's demonstration against the parade, which is scheduled for next Friday. At the end of the demonstration, the participants marched Jerusalem's Bar-Ilan Street in an attempt to block traffic. The police deployed officers on horseback to prevent the roads from being blocked.
The organizers of the gay pride march met on Thursday evening with several rabbis at the home of city council member Nir Barkat. The meeting was initiated in order to calm the hostility between the two sides.