Gays propose alternate date for capital parade after police veto

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
Jerusalem's Gay and Lesbian Center has offered police several alternative dates to hold its annual parade this month, after police vetoed its original plans to hold the controversial event the day before Rosh Hashana, the group and police said Sunday. The move, which throws the ball back into the police court, comes just days after the organization vowed to take the police to court over the veto, and mirrors a similar controversy over last month's planned international gay parade in Jerusalem, which was cancelled due to the war in Lebanon. The proposed dates are all the week before Rosh Hashana, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said, adding that police are studying the alternative dates. The police had said last week that they did not have ample forces to secure such an event at such a busy time, which also coincides with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The annual local parade, which draws several thousand participants every year, has been the source of repeated debate, with many religious city councilors and a not insignificant number of largely-traditional residents considering such an event inappropriate for a "holy" city. The organization has held four previous parades in the city. The last gay parade in the city ended in violence after a haredi attacker stabbed three participants.