Protests against homophobia and Jewish ‘terror’ take place throughout
Thousands of people joined political leaders and President Reuven Rivlin at rallies in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa Saturday night to condemn violence in Israeli society, as personified by Thursday night’s stabbing attack at Jerusalem’s annual gay pride parade and the suspected Jewish terrorist attack at Duma that killed a Palestinian toddler and seriously injured the rest of his family.
Standing on a podium in front of an enormous gay pride flag in Jerusalem’s Zion Square Saturday night, Rivlin condemned the attack at the parade, and the “spreading flames of hatred” following the murder of the Palestinian boy.
Amid a crowd of thousands, many of who hoisted adjoined Israeli and gay pride flags, the president said violence carried out in the name of the Torah is antithetical to Judaism, and demanded that incitement come to an end.
“Friends, the flames are spreading in our land – flames of violence, flames of hatred, flames of false, distorted and twisted beliefs,” said Rivlin.
“We cannot continue to dismiss these flames, which are consuming the public in Israel…These flames, which are consuming all of us, cannot be extinguished with weak condemnations. These flames cannot be extinguished with solidarity rallies.”