Rav Tzvi Tau: "Such An Abominable Parade In The Holy City Requires Protest"

18 Menachem Av 5778

For the record, I want to state that my problem is not only with LGBT, but with any public celebration of sin, which is outright rebellion against the Creator. I would have the same problem with it if it were an Adulterers' Pride Parade, which carries the same criminal penalty I might add.

In my ruminations about the best way to make our opposition to the desecration of Yerushalayim Ir Hakodesh known, a couple of things occurred to me. 

1. Instead of making it against the LGBT parade, which brings with it accusations of "hate" and "homophobia," neither of which is truly the case, perhaps a better approach would be to make it a demonstration in favor of HKB"H, His Torah and the sanctity of the city. After all, Moshe Rabeinu did not call out, "Whoever is against the Golden Calf, come to me!" He said, "Whoever is FOR Hashem, come to me!"

2. Instead of coming into close proximity to the parade itself, perhaps a better idea would be to pick a more central, easy-to-reach location "at the entrance to the city, on the western dividing line" where our sources tell us the power of the Erev Rav is concentrated. Someplace like the wide plaza under the Strings Bridge. All of our examples instruct us to distance ourselves from the proximity of the sinners, i.e. Korach et al.

Lo and behold, today, I learned that such a demonstration has already been organized by Rav Tzvi Tau.

Following is a rough Google translation of a Srugim article...

Rabbi Tau at the head of the demonstration: "The abomination parade"
Rabbi Tzvi Tau, head of Yeshivat Har Hamor in Jerusalem, takes part in a demonstration against her LGBT platform in Jerusalem: "Such an abominable parade in the holy city requires protest."

A protest rally is taking place this Thursday against the LGBT parade in Jerusalem.

The demonstration, which will take place under the string bridge at the entrance to the city, includes Rabbi Zvi Tau and Rabbi Shlomo Aviner.

Yossi, one of the organizers of the demonstration, told Srugim that "we deliberately asked the police to hold the protest not next to the parade. Because our statement is not on a personal level with regard to those who march in it, and also because we do not want to be a tool for provocations and riots."

He says: "We want to make a healthy voice of naturalness, a healthy voice of Torah that a family is a father and a mother. We believe that the people of Israel are better off, religious and secular, feel offended by their feelings from the march."

[I've emailed them for the times. See the one from last year HERE.]

There will be, iy"h, another more traditional demonstration at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, near the area where the parade usually ends at Liberty Bell Park. If I'm not mistaken, they will be gathering 4:30pm - 5:00pm. Srugim reports...

In anticipation of the parade in Jerusalem, Lehava threatens the police 
"Any arrest, delay or illegal activity against any activist or citizen on his way to a demonstration against the parade will be met with a large and double financial claim"

In anticipation of the LGBT parade in Jerusalem on Thursday, Lahavah announced that it was preparing to protest against the Jerusalem police.

"There is no doubt that following the storm surrounding the surrogacy law, and the other things that are causing the LGBT issues to be frequent recently in the media, this year's parade will be more blatant, more extrovert, with more and more provocative attempts to stick a finger in the eye of the sane majority in Jerusalem, which opposes the marches that are defiant against Judaism and the Jewish holy sites. "

Every cop will be sued with a double claim

The organization is threatening the police: "We are planning to prepare for this year's protest, with the understanding that if we do not do so, no one will do so, and we also send a legal warning to the Israel Police: any arrest, of an activist or citizen who will be on his way to a demonstration against the parade, and as the police have done with bullying since the march in which the late Shira Benki was assassinated, will receive a large and double financial claim: both against the police and against the policemen involved in the same detention."

"I am sorry to see that the ultra-Orthodox public and the national religious public are not joining us in a demonstration against that parade," said Bentzi Gopstein, chairman of the Lahavah organization, "and we can see many condemnations of the LGBT terrorism that are positive, but the real test is in the field. We, in any case, we will be there."

Everyone knows that these demonstrations will not stop the parades, because the current law is on their side. HKB"H only holds us responsible for what we are capable of doing. And vocally and publicly protesting is within our power, so that is the least that we can do. We also know that just like prayer without action in this world accomplishes little, so does action without prayer. In that spirit, I propose that the modest women who wish to protest do what they do best and assail the heights of Heaven with holy prayer and Tehillim while the men take the public stand. [Iy"H, more on this a bit later.]

 A Very Sad Commentary

You should be aware that many religiously-garbed (kippah and kisui rosh) "Orthodox" Jews actually participate in the Jerusalem parade...

...Rabbi Eli Sadan, co-head of the yeshiva at Eli, recently authored a manifesto of sorts titled “A call for direction for Religious Zionists,” in which he acknowledges the ineptness of religious political movements in creating a state in years past and the triumph of secular Zionism.

He concludes that it is time for Religious Zionism to take charge of the country through key positions in the military, state institutions, the judiciary and education.

“We should do today what we didn’t do a hundred years ago,” he writes.

“This is the real solution for the problems of the hour.”

One of the chief “problems” according to Tau’s adherents is homosexuality.

In his manifesto, Tau condemns last year’s gay parade in Jerusalem, which brought together a record number of participants and was overwhelmed by kippa-wearing men and head-covered women.

A running joke during the parade was that it had been turned into a religious party. What perhaps drove so many religious men and women to protest [in favor of] LGBTQ rights in Jerusalem were previous events promoting the parade and gay rights.

Two years ago, a religious extremist stabbed to death 16-year-old Shira Banki during the parade, justifying his deed by his understanding of ultra-Orthodoxy.

A few months before last year’s parade, Sadan’s partner in heading the pre-military academy at Eli, Rabbi Yigal Levinstein, was filmed expressing a heavily unfavorable attitude toward gays in a talk later nicknamed by Israeli media as “the perverts speech,” since he defined homosexuality as a perversion.

“For some of the religious participants, myself included,” activist Tehila Friedman told the Post, “joining the parade wasn’t about supporting LGBTQ rights. The event took place a week after an important public figure [Levinstein] held a hateful speech against homosexuals, calling them perverts. I came to the parade to protest against spreading hate in the name of God. I consider such speech blasphemy.” (Source)

I doubt very much that the onlookers could discern that distinction in Ms. Friedman's "protest."

Stay tuned...