-some Jew
Love the quote. And it really is quite applicable these days. There's supposed to be a gay pride parade on Friday here in Jerusalem. So what, right? Well guess who's really pissed...religious Jews, Muslims, and Christians. That's right, Jews, Muslims, and Christians all holding hands and singing kumbaya in the spirit of gay-bashing! An unlikely alliance, but an alliance nonetheless.
"Dude, this parade is so gay."
Basically, Israeli gays/lesbians/bisexuals/transexuals want to have a parade to celebrate their rights and freedoms as Israeli citizens, but the religious guys (some, like me who is far from a bleeding heart liberal, would actually call these Orthos violent racist homophobes) see this is an afront on the holiness and sanctity of Jerusalem and their ways of life.
The problem is, the ultra-Orthodox Jews have been rioting in the streets of Jerusalem for the last few days. They've been setting fires to dumpsters and blocking traffic with tires and trash. Normally I wouldn't care that much except that all these shenanigans are diverting bus routes which really cuts into my drinking time at the bars.
But seriously, this is a big deal in Jeru right now. Violence is a very real possibility; at last year's march, an ultra-Orthodox man stabbed three parade participants. The issue is splitting the city apart and threatening to rot Israeli society from the inside out. Basically it's a power struggle between two of elements of Israeli society which hate each other to no end: secular vs. religious.
And here you thought all Israel had to worry about was Hamas, Hezbollah, and terrorism.
I'll be at the parade, and if I survive, I'll share pictures and anecdotes.
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