Tel Aviv authorities announced the cancellation of annual Pride parade. The municipality said it will instead hold a rally as a sign of pride, hope, and freedom.
The decision was made after municipality representatives consulted with organizations, promoters and venue owners in the city.
Mayor Ron Huldai expressed the self-evident reasons for making the change: “This is not the time for celebrations. In coordination with the organizations of the LGBTQ community, we decided that this year, instead of the Pride parade, we will hold a rally in Tel Aviv as a sign of pride, hope, and freedom. 132 of our sons and daughters are still kidnapped in Gaza, the circle of bereavement is expanding every day, and we are in one of the most difficult periods of the State of Israel.”
“Tel Aviv is the home of the LGBTQ community, it was and always will be,” he added.
The coalition of LGBTQ community organizations welcomed the decision: “We welcome the decision of the Tel Aviv Municipality not to hold the Pride parade as usual this year,” they said. “In these difficult days, when we are all in pain and grieving and when many of our brothers and sisters are not at home, either as evacuees from their homes or kidnapped in Gaza, and our hearts are not whole until they return.”
Israel is a rare bastion of tolerance for the LGBTQ community in the conservative muslim Middle East, where homosexuality is widely considered taboo and is outlawed in many places. Tel Aviv, the second biggest city in Israel, is home to one of the world’s biggest LGBTQ Pride parades, with over 200,000 people attending every year.
132 Israelis are still kidnapped by Hamas
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