A not so happy Pride Parade ?! ============================== I attended yesterday, with hundreds of thousands in Stockholm, the Gay Pride Parade. In Israel, like in Sweden, the LGBT community has full freedom and both communities, the Swedish and the Israeli,are close together and visit each other frequently. Despite this fact, I was appalled to march this time not only due to the fact that Israel is currently in a harsh war against a large militia of Islamic terror and cruelty of Hamas. The major reason that I found it difficult to march this time in Stockholm, was the fact that although I represent the State of Israel - the only country in the Middle East that accepts and acknowledges the LGBT community, I could not even carry a tiny pennant/flag of my country, respectfully to this march. The reason lies in our safety, of course. It is not safe for anyone to walk around Sweden today with an Israeli flag or anything that is identified with Israel, and too often with Judaism, at all. All around me were many Middle Eastern immigrants, attending the parade while waving their native countries flags proudly and fearlessly, especially the flag of Palestine, without any fear or apprehension. They also carried posters and one would think that the LGBT community in their countries can expose themselves without any harm to them nor to their families. To make matters worse, they used this march cunningly, this colorful, happy and non-political march in the heart of Stockholm - and shouted Israelis are Murderers. Because of this violent and hypocrite audience and their representatives in Sweden, and in order not to attract violence, we decided, not happily of course - against marching with the Israeli flag. The conclusion is obvious, undemocratic and hypocritical - the representatives of the State of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, the only country in the Middle East, where the LGBT community is free and equal, cannot be represented in Sweden with the Israeli flag. The fact that Israel , a country where the LGBT community has a very proud and profound place in the Israeli society became irrelevant and in fact had to be hidden away from the crowd. . This is due to the fact that this antisemitic, unpredictable and violent group, that identifies with the Palestinians who cannot even and must not ever mention the term LGBT - exploit this parade to defame Israel regardless to the fact that this is a non-political parade. Once again we witness the distorted usage of democracy: in a peaceful and colorful parade, seeds of aggression are planted, cynically. If you feel comfortable with this upside-down roles, in which Palestinian flags are waved up high when there is no acceptance of the LGBT community there at all and when politics are used in the wrong places, while the Israelis, where the LGBT community feels great and free, encounter very founded fears to wave their flag high proudly like all others here - if this is the reality right now, things are very distorted and are going the very wrong way. Some food for thought for Swedes, since Sweden is - and very rightly so - a country that cherishes so much justice, human rights, equality and a like precious values indeed.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 13:30:18 +0000
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