Gay pride opposition war plan
Pouring gas on streets, breaking into police station and setting up war room for legal aid. These are only some of tactics gay pride opposition is planning on using to halt parade Efrat Weiss
The gay pride parade in Jerusalem will go off as planned, according to a senior official in the police Tuesday to Ynet. "As of now, we don't have the capability to say that we aren't authorizing the parade," said the official.
"If the information changes, the Jerusalem district chief will go to the High Court and will tell them that the police doesn't authorize the parade under its current framework and will allow it to be held in a closed compound or in another city," the official clarified.
According to the source, the High Court left the door open for the police on the gay pride parade issue. According to him, on Sunday it will be decided whether Jerusalem District Commander Ilan Franco will turn to the High Court to request a change in the parade route in accordance with intelligence.
"The intelligence picture as of now is not encouraging, to say the least. At first, there was going to be protest only in Jerusalem, but as of now it seems as though the protest is spilling over to the whole country. We need to keep the balance between freedom of expression and democracy alongside protecting the public. If the intelligence picture changes, we won't be able to allocate the necessary forces to the Jerusalem Police because we will need police forces throughout the country," Franco said.
Preparing 'surprises' for the police
In order to fight the parade, the parade opposition isn't being stingy on resources. One of the more significant meetings of the opposition was held Tuesday between members of the extreme right-wing and an extreme haredi sect.
Their plan of actions is as follows: Haredi people living in Beit Shemesh, most of them members of the extreme sect, will block the entrance to Jerusalem. Members of the extreme right-wing will block the Ayalon Highway. Residents of Bnei Brak wil block Geha Road and haredi people from Ashdod will block the Ashdod exit going toward Highway 6.
Battle plan mapped out. (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
In a conversation with Ynet, the parade opposition mentioned a "surprise" they are preparing for the police. "We will disperse thousands of ninjas, liters of oil, and will block the roads and will break into the police station in Beit Shemesh. We won't let the parade get on its way," they said.
In a meeting in Kiryat Arba, spokesmen of the right, including Baruch Marzel, reiterated that they will disparage the organizers and participants of the pride parade. "We must put an end to this thing. Only with total devotion will we be able to prevent the large desecration of G-d's name planned in Jerusalem," said Marzel.
One of the parade opposition organizers told Ynet, "The integrated plan includes surrounding the center of the city from all sides: in the east, Arabs in the area of the Temple Mount; in the north, the area of Hashevet Square will be packed with haredi people; even closer to the parade on King George Street, Shlomo Hall behind Bell Park, where the paraders are slated to show up, there will be protestors. The national religious stream is also in the picture.
"Our assumption is that even if the entire police force is out, if there are 50,000 religious, haredi, and protestors, even if they don't do a thing, the parade won't take place," he said.
Legal war room
In order to achieve the said objective, say the sources, two additional headquarters will be established – the first is the "devotion headquarters" that will try to break through the police encasement and confront the marchers, and the second will deal blocking the roads similar to the method used during the disengagement.
The parade opposition plans on setting up a war room in the center of Jerusalem in which lawyers will sit and give legal counseling to whomever is arrested, or needs legal guidance.
Attorney Sagiv Rotenberg said to Ynet: "We are planning on giving complementary legal advice. We don't wear a kippah. We are based in Tel Aviv, but we think that Jerusalem is a place that, beyond its holy importance to the three religions, is a place with consensus."
Rabbi Yosef Elyashiv, head of the Lithuanian stream, signed a petition Tuesday evening calling to take part in the large rally planned for the pride parade.
After signing, he passed the petition around to various rabbis to receive their signature. It has been made known to Ynet that Eliyashiv and Rav Ovadia Yossef are considering participating in the protest rally because of pressure from the street.