c. 2006 Religion News Service

Violence Averted in Jerusalem Over Gay Pride Parade

JERUSALEM (RNS) A violent confrontation between Jerusalem’s gay and ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities was averted Friday (Nov. 10) when gay activists agreed to hold a rally in a local stadium rather than march through the city’s streets.

Under the agreement brokered by police, leading rabbis in turn asked their followers to refrain from violently demonstrating against the event that drew criticism from Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders.

The rally proceeded “with no disturbances, no disruptions,” police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said. Everyone who entered the stadium was subject to a security check by one of the 3,000 police officers deployed to maintain order. The streets around the Hebrew University’s Givat Ram stadium were patrolled and cordoned off.

Police had threatened to postpone the parade out of fears that fervently Orthodox Jews would attack participants. Ultra-Orthodox men and youths started widespread riots in response to the planned parade, and vowed to stop the parade by violent means if necessary.

Roughly 4,000 people attended the rally, where politicians and gay activists called on notoriously conservative Jerusalemites to display greater tolerance for people of all faiths and persuasions.

“Jerusalem is for all of us,” Zehava Galon, a parliamentarian from the left-wing Meretz Party, told the crowd. “This is not just a struggle for gay rights, it’s a struggle for democracy, for all people regardless of their religion or sexual orientation.”

A few overtly religious people were also in attendance, including Talya Roth, an Orthodox woman wearing a hat and long skirt for reasons of religious modesty. She held up a sign that said, “I accept my gay sister-in-law as she is.”

“I think that what anyone does is between them and God,” Roth said.

In downtown Jerusalem, the mood was less tolerant.

“It’s horrible to have such an event in Jerusalem,” said Rachamim Zadeh, an Orthodox Jew who owns a children’s clothing store. “We don’t hate homosexuals, God forbid, but this is the holy city.”

_ Michele Chabin

Massachusetts Lawmakers Punt on Gay Marriage Ban

BOSTON (RNS) A split Massachusetts Legislature on Thursday (Nov. 9) postponed a vote on a citizens proposal to ban gay marriage, a move that could end the issue’s chances of being decided by voters.

The House and the Senate, meeting in a joint constitutional convention, voted 109-87 to recess before dealing with a proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman and banned future gay marriages.

Legislators voted to recess until Jan. 2, the last day of the legislative session. Lawmakers said they must vote on the issue by midnight on Jan. 2 in order to keep it alive; without a vote, the proposed amendment dies.

Gay rights activists cheered from the House gallery when legislators voted to recess. The move could nix the proposed amendment and block it from going to voters in 2008.

“We believe it’s over,” said Arline Isaacson, co-chairwoman of the Massachusetts Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus. “We’re thrilled. We’re ecstatic.”

The vote to recess drew strong criticism from outgoing Gov. Mitt Romney and other opponents of gay marriage. They had hoped legislators would vote on the proposal to move it toward the 2008 ballot.

“Today, by effectively avoiding the constitutionally required vote on same sex marriage, 109 legislators disgraced their oath of office,” Romney said after the vote. “The constitution plainly states that when a qualified petition is placed before them, they shall vote. By not voting, we have witnessed the triumph of arrogance over democracy.”

Kristian M. Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, said he expects the Legislature will again recess on Jan. 2, effectively killing the chances for the amendment to go on the 2008 ballot.

Mineau said the state Legislature thumbed its nose at about 170,000 registered voters who signed a petition to put the proposed ban before voters. Mineau said he might start a new petition to place an amendment on the 2010 ballot.

If approved by voters, the amendment would not affect gay marriages that occurred before the vote. More than 8,100 same-sex couples have taken vows since gay marriages began in May 2004 in Massachusetts.

_ Dan Ring

City Leaders Say Free Sunday Parking Unfair for Non-Christians

LONDON (RNS) City leaders in Plymouth, England, have withdrawn free parking on Sunday mornings to church-goers on the grounds that it discriminates against non-Christians.

In 1998, when the city instituted parking charges downtown, the charges did not start until noon, allowing worshippers at two Anglican and Methodist churches to park for free.

City parking manager Sarah Joy told The Times of London that “the current free parking on a Sunday morning is discriminatory to other faiths and religious praying days.”

The Rev. Nick McKinnel, pastor of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, called the reasoning “pretty shabby” and said it “betrays a total lack of understanding of the multi-faith agenda and serves only to divide communities.”

The Times cited figures from the 2001 census that said 73.5 percent of the city’s 240,000 residents are Christian; Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, Hindus and Buddhists combined only account for 1.3 percent.

“They have effectively introduced a tax on going to church,” said Mary Hooker, 66, who has attended St. Andrew’s for 50 years.

_ Robert Nowell

Quote of the Day: The Late Ed Bradley, `60 Minutes’ Reporter

(RNS) “If I arrive at the pearly gates and St. Peter said what have I done to deserve entry, I’d ask, `Did you see my Lena Horne story?”’

_ The late Ed Bradley, Emmy-award-winning “60 Minutes” reporter, who died Thursday (Nov. 9) of leukemia. He was quoted by The Washington Post.

KRE/JL END RNS