Anti-Gay (pipe bomb) Blast in Israel

[Ian David]

By: PAUL SCHINDLER
04/26/2007

The detonation of a small-to-medium sized pipe bomb near an unpopulated construction site outside of Jerusalem on the morning of April 20 is widely suspected to be the work of anti-gay Ultra-Orthodox Jews opposed to the right of the city's LGBT community to hold its annual Pride March.

The detonation of a small-to-medium sized pipe bomb near an unpopulated construction site outside of Jerusalem on the morning of April 20 is widely suspected to be the work of anti-gay Ultra-Orthodox Jews opposed to the right of the city's LGBT community to hold its annual Pride March.

"This attack was a direct response to our request for a permit from the police for our June 21 march," Noa Sattah, executive director of the Jerusalem Open House, the city's LGBT community center, told Gay City News just hours after the attack.

Sattah was in New York City visiting the Open House's U.S. partner, Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, the West Village LGBT synagogue.
The bomb, which caused slight injuries to a tractor operator near the construction site, had been placed in the general vicinity of Beit Jamal Monastery, established by the Roman Catholic Silesian order in 1919, but both the Open House and Jerusalem police believe that the detonation was intended to send a message to the LGBT community. Flyers denouncing the planned Pride Parade were found at the site of the bombing.
"This had nothing to do with an anti-Christian message," Sattah said.
Last year, as the Open House was planning World Pride, an international
gathering of LGBT activists, two similar explosive devices were found, also with anti-gay flyers right next to them. Unlike the bomb that exploded last week, those devices were not set to detonate.

"Those were intended to send a threatening message," Sattah said.
In the wake of threats against World Pride last year, Open House leaders cancelled the planned march, telling participants they "could not guarantee their safety." Instead, a Protest Against Hatred vigil was held at Liberty Bell Park. Sattah said that despite the vigil being one of the most heavily secured events in the history of Israel, 32 Ultra-Orthodox counter-protesters were arrested just outside the police perimeter. Two of the arrestees were carrying assault weapons.

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