Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) – Israel’s chief rabbis want to join forces with their Christian and Muslim counterparts to stop an international homosexual gathering scheduled to take place in Jerusalem in August.
The Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance (JOH), the city’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center, is planning the event, which includes conferences, parties and a parade through the streets of Jerusalem.
This will be the second WorldPride event. Critics of the first international event, held in Rome during the during the Catholic church’s 2000 Millennium Jubilee celebration, viewed it as an affront to the Catholic Church and Christianity.
Opposition to the Jerusalem WorldPride event has united religious leaders who might otherwise have little in common.
Israel’s two chief rabbis, leaders in the Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Churches as well as Muslim leaders from northern Israel and Jerusalem made their views known at a press conference in Jerusalem Thursday.
Speaking variously in Hebrew, English and Arabic, the leaders of all three faiths denounced the idea of holding the international homosexual event in the Holy City and called on the Israeli government to intervene.
The 10-day event “will offend the very foundations of our religious values and the character of the Holy City,” the leaders said in a joint statement.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam all view homosexuality as a sin. The three religions also view Jerusalem as a holy city.
The leaders called on the government and police to consider “the full implications of these plans” and to prohibit any march of this kind, especially in the Holy City of Jerusalem.
But Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s spokesman, Dr. Ra’anan Gissin, said the government would not get involved.
The religious leaders have every right to protest the event, Gissin said. But “the government does not get involved.”
Israeli Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar asked the homosexual community to abandon its plans for holding the event here and to keep Jerusalem holy.
“Remove this deep sorrow from us. We can’t bear it. We have enough sorrow with the disengagement,” Amar said in reference to the planned withdrawal of Israeli communities from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank this summer.
“This is a holy city for people who accept the Lordship of God on their life,” said Vatican representative to Israel, Monsignor Pietro Sambi. “It’s not for pride.”
It is not only an offense but also a provocation. No one can give assurances that such an event and parade will pass peacefully, Sambi said. “While we respect these people [they must] respect the feelings of the Jews, Christians and Muslims,” he added.
“We have one city that is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims,” said Sheikh Abu El Saleem Menasera, the representative of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.
The Jewish and Christian religious are based on Jerusalem and the city is no less holy to Muslims, said Menasera. The Muslim world won’t tolerate this, he added.
The representative of the Armenian Patriarch, Bishop Aris Shevian, called it ironic that the event had united the three faiths.
“The gathering of these representatives around a common purpose is significant,” said Shevian. It is the first time that there was such a press conference where heads of the three faiths here in Jerusalem were agreeing on a cause, he added.
The JOH did not respond to a query on Thursday, but two weeks ago, they said they believed the event held “much promise for Jerusalem.”
“Jerusalem is a Holy City for many people…[which] includes many people who plan to celebrate…love and diversity,” a spokeswoman for the group said.
JOH has previously said that Jerusalem was chosen because of its history, heritage and symbolism at the heart of the ongoing conflict — and not as a provocation to offend the religious communities here.
In a statement released Thursday in Los Angeles, a homosexual activist who plans to attend WorldPride said he was “deeply saddened that once again, religion has been used to attack God’s gay and lesbian children.”
The Rev. Troy D. Perry, who describes himself as an “internationally known gay cleric,” said the Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders have a right to their views – “but they don’t have a right to globalize their prejudice and infringe on the freedoms of others.
“True spiritual values are about inclusion and welcome, not attacks and threats,” Perry said.
Perry, founder of the Metropolitan Community Churches, plans to co-chair an Interfaith Gay Clergy Conference scheduled to take place during WorldPride. He said many of those coming to Jerusalem plan to celebrate their spiritual pride as well as “gay pride.”
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