Israel has dealt with extremism for many decades, but one wouldn’t expect for a pride parade to bring about a terrorist attack.
That was the case for Israelis when they celebrated Jerusalem Pride last Thursday. The extremist Orthodox Jew, Yishai Shlissel, who had just been released from prison for stabbing three participants in the first Jerusalem Pride Parade ten years ago, stabbed six parade participants this time. One participant was critically wounded. The photos from CNN of the stabbing are GRAPHIC. You’ve been warned.
Shlissel was part of the anti-gay, far-right activist group, Lehava. Lehava means “flame” in Hebrew. Lehava said in a press release previous to the pride parade that it would not allow the event “to pass quietly.” Members of the group, sometimes viewed as terrorists, showed up to the parade with posters that read “Mum, where is Dad?” and “Dad, where is Mum?” The group refers to the Torah on the issue of homosexuality and says it is against God’s will. They are widely viewed as an extremist organization.
The attacks by Shlissel were widely condemned across Israel which has a large LGBT population. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the government would “pursue justice for those responsible.” The government refused to call the stabbing an act of terror, but Netanyahu did call it “a despicable hate crime.” Israel has become much more polarized in recent years as progressive issues such as gay rights rise to the surface. The Orthodox Jewish population is highly represented in Israeli government and is very conservative in their beliefs, which likely explains Netanyahu’s reticence to call the stabbing a terrorist attack.
Shlissel will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars for the offense.
