Venus View

American Rabbi denounces anti-gay organizing against WorldPride as hateful and inciting violence

Statement from Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, North American Co-Chair of August 2006 WorldPride to be held in Jerusalem. Rabbi Kleinbaum is also Head Rabbi of Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, the largest LGBTA synagogue in the world


"I am both outraged and saddened by American Rabbi Yehuda Levin's efforts to undermine and threaten WorldPride, its organizers and participants.

Levin's use of religion as a weapon of bigotry and violence is offensive to all who care about God and religion and morality. He blasphemer's God's name when he says that Jerusalem does not belong to all of us. Yehuda's organizing of a Jerusalem conference attended by both Jewish and Arab religious leaders, expressing their violence and hate riddled objections to holding WorldPride in Jerusalem, should be offensive to all people of faith and those who believe in free expression and diversity.

His comments, along with those of two leading Muslim religious leaders, Sheikh Taysir al-Tamimi and Sheikh Hamad Bitawi, clearly and bluntly advocated violence against LGBT people and are despicable and dangerous. Who are they to claim Jerusalem as only for those who agree with their divisive and bigoted views? These so-called "religious leaders" are the true disgrace to the true spirit of our diverse faiths.

Advocating violence goes against every holy principal we hold dear as Jews, in solidarity with millions of Christian, Muslims and people of diverse faiths.

Jerusalem was chosen as the site for WorldPride because it represents a center of tolerance, pluralism, and love for all humanity. The thousands of WorldPride participants, from Israel and all over the world and of diverse faiths - will be the best answer to Levin's display of intolerance and unholy values.

My participation in the historic multifaith convocation, the first ever to take place at WorldPride, will include religious leaders from the gay and allied communities joined together in mutual respect, not brought together in hate as Levin has done. Muslims, Jews, and Christians will come together in a display of a religious voice that respects all human beings who were created in God's image, and obligated to universal values of respect and love."