Gay and lesbian Jews heading for Jerusalem to attend WorldPride thought they might face hostility from anti-gay bigots. But they never expected Katyusha rockets.
Despite the shock of war between Israel and Hezbollah, despite the ongoing threats from anti-gay religious figures, scores of Bay Area Jews are still planning to attend WorldPride, a weeklong gathering of gays and lesbians in Jerusalem next month. That includes members of Congregation Sha’ar Zahav (a largely LGBT Reform synagogue in San Francisco), as well as a delegation of civic leaders led by the Jewish Community Relations Council.
WorldPride culminates in an Aug. 10 parade through the streets of Jerusalem, with up to 20,000 people expected to join in. It’s meant to show that the Holy City belongs to all. However, the war on Israel’s northern border has left many wondering if WorldPride can or should go on. Organizers say it will, but with the ongoing threat of long-range missiles, no one is sure how the cities of the south may be affected. Several worried Sha’ar Zahav congregants have already dropped out of the trip.
Organizers of WorldPride issued a statement this week declaring their resolve to press forward. “We are carefully monitoring the situation,” it reads, “while continuing our work towards Aug. 6, the opening date of the Jerusalem WorldPride week. During the current hostilities, Jerusalem is a calm spot, with a variety of public events going on as scheduled.”
Hezbollah isn’t the only headache WorldPride attendees must face. Many Orthodox Jewish, Christian and Muslim clerics in Israel strongly oppose the parade, with some rabbis and politicians employing extreme rhetoric.
New York Rabbi Yehuda Levin said a few weeks ago, “I promise there will be violence.” Other used terms like “perverts” and “pigs” to describe LGBT people. Religious Jerusalem neighborhoods were littered with fliers that put a bounty on the heads of murdered marchers. It also showed how to make a bomb.
Even with the twin concerns, Jews going to WorldPride remain undeterred by the threats. For Sha’ar Zahav congregants traveling to Israel, the trip holds great meaning both as Jews and as members of the LGBT community. The Hezbollah rockets only add to the determination for some.
“This is a particularly challenging time to travel to Israel,” says Sha’ar Zahav Rabbi Camille Shira Angel. “Yet more than ever, the message of tolerance should be heard.”
“It’s important to go and be counted as a queer Jew and stand up for Israel’s right to exist,” says Sha’ar Zahav member Karen Schiller, who also will be going to WorldPride. “It’s important for me to be seen in the Jewish community as a whole person, to say I belong at the heart of Judaism. I’m not outside or peripheral.”
“It’s more important than ever to put our bodies on the line with our presence and solidarity,” says WorldPride attendee Dennis Ybarra. “I am not fearful; I am angry. I’m offended that I may not be able to go to the north as planned, and that my countrymen are being made to suffer like the blitz of London.”
“I’ve marched in the streets since I was 18,” adds Joseph Ramirez-Forcier. “What does that mean nowadays? There’s no risk in that. Supporting gay and lesbian people in Israel, and allowing them to see a pride event, is a nice thing to do.”
The fourth-generation San Franciscan understands that WorldPride will upset many, but he hopes the event will drive conversation. “We cannot talk to them unless we go to them,” says Ramirez-Forcier of the parade’s opponents. “It’s easy to dislike someone when you don’t know who they are. This is the root of discrimination.”
Rabbi Doug Kahn, JCRC’s executive director, heads his agency’s delegation to WorldPride. He says his delegation’s trip is still on, though he is closely monitoring events on the ground. “We’re in frequent communication with our participants, who are eager to go and understandably concerned,” he says. “Our trip always had WorldPride as a focal point but not the exclusive content of the trip. This provides an opportunity to explore issues we would want to touch on anyway, including the threats Israel faces from its enemies.”
This will be Sha’ar Zahav member Mark Pressler’s first trip to Israel. “I’ve wanted to go a long time,” he says. “I’m going more for the Jewishness than the gayness, but I am excited to be part of it. I consider myself a strong Zionist, to the right of my more liberal friends, and I see both sides of the issues. I want to hear the political discussions firsthand.”
He also wants to stand before the Western Wall, snorkel in the sea at Eilat and do all the things tourists do when they visit Israel. In fact, the first week of the 14-day trip is all about tourism. The Sha’ar Zahav contingent will do Israel in style, visiting the Negev, climbing Masada, touring a kibbutz or two and floating in the Dead Sea.
The JCRC delegation may not get to do much snorkeling, but they will certainly find the trip illuminating. Among those going are many local government officials, LGBT activists and politicians — some Jewish, some not.
“One of the goals of the trip is to experience the richness of Israel’s spiritual history,” notes Kahn. “That will happen with as much intent during this mission as it does during all [JCRC] missions.”
For Long Island native Schiller, this marks her first return to Israel since the summer of 1974. “I remember how beautiful the country was,” she says, “and how close [being there] made me feel to the Jewish people. I’m looking forward to that renewal.”
Adds Ramirez-Forcier, “The Orthodox have a right to live in a biblical or talmudic time. I live as a modern Jew in a modern era. In time, they may see in the eyes of the people that come [to WorldPride] that we are kind and loving people, as close to God as they are, and that we are all equal.”
Schiller echoes those sentiments. “Judaism teaches that we have to be true to ourselves,” she says, “that we are all made in God’s image, that we all stood at Sinai. Anything that excludes us, I just have to believe is not what the rabbis and our fore-parents meant.”
Staff writer Dan Pine will accompany Congregation Sha’ar Zahav’s delegation to WorldPride, and will be reporting from Israel in the weeks ahead.