Sane people everywhere stand against the recent violence which occurred at the Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade, in which six people were stabbed and wounded by an Orthodox Jew who was released from prison three weeks ago after serving a 10-year prison sentence for a similar act at a Jerusalem gay pride parade in 2005. This violence was unacceptable and hateful, and the perpetrator should be sentenced to the fullest extent of the law.
We stand also against the hatred of the New Israel Fund, an organization that supports a boycott of Israel, and their attempt to raise funds after this terrible attack. NIF's claims to blame the attack on “extremists in Israel who have cultivated an ideology of hate and of homophobia,” and to somehow link this to “the outcome of a dysfunctional political reality” are wrong. The violence against gay Israelis is not the act of the right-wing or of the Orthodox – it is a despicable act of hatred by one criminal.
Extremists of the NIF are rejected across the board in Israel. From right to left, all across the nation, this American Jewish extremist organization is rejected and will continue to be. Those who support Israel, gay or straight, right-wing or left-wing, stand against attacks on gays and against boycotts of Israel.
We further reject NIF’s attempt to somehow make this about the Israeli government. Only a few weeks ago, when the US Supreme Court made their landmark ruling on gay marriage, Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon issued a statement which said, “The Supreme Court of the United States made an important, just and historic decision today.” Ya’alon added, “Every person has the right to marry and have children, regardless of their sexual orientation. I hope additional countries, including Israel, will follow in the footsteps of the United States and grant this basic right to all.”
For gays of all races and religions, Israel is one of the most open places in the world, the only country in the Middle East where LGBT rights are protected. As the Mayor of Tel Aviv recently said, “We are trying to create a model for openness, pluralism, tolerance – live and let live.”
Meanwhile, in the Arab world, homosexuality remains a capital offense and gay rights a foreign term. ISIS celebrated the Supreme Court's decision by throwing four suspected gays off the roof of a building. Recently, Turkish riot police dispersed a Gay Pride event on Sunday using tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets, as the event was unexpectedly banned by the Istanbul Governor’s Office. The Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry said gays would never have their rights recognized in the Kingdom. In Qatar, where the 2022 Football World Cup will be held, homosexuality is illegal. In the Palestinian territories, the Palestinian National Authority awards the death penalty for gays.
Israel’s First Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, famously said: “When Israel has prostitutes and thieves, we'll be a state just like any other.” This was the act of a criminal as happens in any country, and he must be punished.
The New Israel Fund, as usual makes this a condemnation of the State of Israel rather than the condemnation of an act.
Ronn Torossian is CEO of a top 20 US PR Agency, and author of For Immediate Release.
George Birnbaum is an international political consultant who formerly served as chief of staff for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Hank Sheinkopf, CEO of Sheinkopf Communications, is a leading political strategist who has worked on campaigns in four continents. His clients have included former President Bill Clinton.