Ultra - Orthodox Jew
Jailed
in Israel Gay Pride
Case
By REUTERS, from the
NYTimes on the Web, February 8, 2006
JERUSALEM -- An ultra-Orthodox
Jew who stabbed and wounded three marchers in a Jerusalem gay pride parade last
summer was sentenced on Wednesday to 12 years in prison after being convicted of
attempted murder.
Ishai Schlussel told police he was on a mission from God to stop what he
described as the abomination of homosexuals and lesbians marching through the
holy city, Israeli media reports said.
Calling Schlussel a fanatic, the court said in its verdict that he had carried
out the attack aware that he might have to pay a heavy personal price for his
crime.
Authorities in Jerusalem, a city holy to Muslims, Christians and Jews, had tried
to ban the parade for fear it could provoke violence, but they were overruled by
Israel's High Court.
Thousands took part in the procession last June, dancing and waving through the
center of the city. At the entrance to Jerusalem, protesters had erected a
banner that read "Welcome to Sodom."
A spokeswoman for the parade's organizers said the 12-year sentence handed down
by the Jerusalem District Court was a victory for freedom of expression and
equality for the gay community in Israel.
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