Thousands of revellers attended Jerusalem's Gay Pride parade under heavy police protection on Thursday, a year after an ultra-Orthodox Jew killed a teenager at the march. Marchers carried rainbow flags emblazoned with the Star of David and a group banged drums as they walked. Many laid flowers under a picture of Shira Banki, 16, who was killed at the march in July last year. Israeli media said a record 25 000 people took part in the parade, up from an estimated 5 000 last year. They were escorted by over 2 000 police officers who blocked off roads and set up checkpoints around the areas the march passed through.
Banki was attacked at random by Yishai Shlissel, an ultra-orthodox Jew who also stabbed five other people and is now serving a life sentence. Israeli police said they suspected Shlissel had been in contact with his brother from prison to organise an assault on this year's parade. His brother, Michael, was arrested and was being held in police custody as the march got underway. Police said in a statement they uncovered information that "Yishai Shlissel had planned, with his brother Michael Schlissel, to attack march participants".
Police said 30 other people who planned to attack the march were also arrested, several of them in possession of knives. All marchers were inspected before joining, with many pre-registering, while carrying a weapon of any kind was prohibited, police said.
Israel has long had by far the most liberal approach to homosexuality in the Middle East, compared to its Arab neighbours, with a large and influential gay community. The annual Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem, a city sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians, is however far smaller than the one held in nearby Tel Aviv.
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