Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
As I predicted yesterday, the threats of violence are already starting from the ultra-orthodox nutballs.
Rabbi Oded Shmueli of the haredi sect warned the government not to approve the march, calling homosexuality "evil"...Shmueli also said that the haredi had formed an alliance with the extreme-right Jewish National Front to oppose the parade.
Shmueli said that among the proposals being considered were blocking the streets to haredi neighborhoods and physically striking out at gay businesses and venues that are open on the Sabbath.
Expect things to be worse than last year. Last year they set fires, tried to stone the mayor of Jerusalem and planted a bomb at a Tel Aviv police station. The year before they stabbed several people and threw bags of feces at them. And they got a partial win, the event was moved to a stadium. Now that they know violence works, you can expect more of it to continue until the police actually do their job and arrest the thugs and protect the right to hold a peaceful demonstration.
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Shmueli said that among the proposals being considered were blocking the streets to haredi neighborhoods and physically striking out at gay businesses and venues that are open on the Sabbath.
This is a great idea. You could make a real statement by, say, breaking all the windows of businesses associated with gay people. Of course, it would have to be done at night, when there's less chance of being caught, but just think of the impact when newspapers start running stories about the Night where Glass is Broken.
Of course, such a thing would ultimately have only temporary effects, necessitating some kind of final solution to the gay question.
I think I'm going to go cry now.
Posted by: Boo | May 31, 2007 10:14 PM
Boo:
Powerful stuff.
Don't these arseholes remember their own history?
Posted by: MartinDH | May 31, 2007 11:01 PM
Disappointment. Frustration and anger. More disappointment and a long, deep sorrow. These I feel when some of my people behave like the schoolyard bullies I knew so well back in the day.
What is amazing is that these thugs have such universally known traits! Nearly everyone recognizes a bag of hot air, or a bag of shit, when they encounter one. And yet, some excuse is always found to suffer their offense in a bid to avoid giving offense while ignoring their offense raised to some loathsome power (in my tongue we call this "suffering", as opposed to being "discommoded") that is imposed on those who haven't the luxury to admire the beast from some comfortable distance.
This would be a good opportunity to relearn the old injunction to "call a spade a spade".
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | May 31, 2007 11:53 PM
See, it's different now because gays deserve it.
Posted by: Leni | June 1, 2007 11:25 AM
Boo wins the Internet, and Leni wins teh Tubes.
Posted by: stogoe | June 1, 2007 1:30 PM