Jerusalem was painted in all the colors of the rainbow on Thursday to mark the city’s annual gay pride. Five thousand people marched in the 10th annual Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade in the capital on Thursday, waving rainbow flags of all shapes and sizes in the non-violent protest. Among them: Hadash and Communist Party of Israel activists, members of the “Red-Pink LGTB Movement” marched with red flags and carried banners against discrimination, occupation and capitalism. In contrast to past years, there were no ultra-orthodox (haredim) standing by the parade route in protest.

For the first time since 2005, the parade returned to its original route down King George and Keren HaYesod streets, where they stopped to observe a moment of silence where three participants were stabbed in 2005 by a haredi extremist.

Hadash activist during the Jerusalem Gay Pride (Photo: Red-Pink LGTB Movement)

The colorful, musical parade that wound its way down King George Street with rainbow balloons flying from decorated wheelchairs and even a lone bagpipe with a rainbow beanie was a visual shock compared with the black and white counter protest in the haredi neighborhood of Mea Shearim. Ahead of the parade, right-wing activists led by Baruch Marzel said they planned to bring eight live donkeys to the parade to protest the “bestiality” of the Pride and Tolerance parade.

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