marching on holy ground

"A total of over 3,000 police were set to man event on Friday, and a further 2,500 policemen were due to be deployed in east Jerusalem, the Old City and around the Temple Mount out of concern that Palestinians would riot following Wednesday's shelling in Beit Hanun that killed twenty Gazan civilians."

The Jerusalem gay parade ended Friday in relative quiet.

"This test was one of the most complex that the Jerusalem Police, and the Police in general have ever been forced to face."

I have always wondered about these types of parades and marches in general. What are they supposed to accomplish?

Those sitting on the fence, did they decide to turn to a new type of life? Do the Jews in Jerusalem now have a new respect for the gay choice of life? I really don't think so.

Would those that marched in this parade support a "Klu Klu Klan" march in Jerusalem? Would they support a "dedicate your babies to the fires of Molech" parade? After all who draws the lines for freedom of speech?

I've never heard of a case in which salt in an open wound heals. 100 times out of 100 when a small child with an ice cream sticks his tongue out at his foe without and screeches "nah nah nah nah nahhhhh I've got ice cream and youuuuuuuuu don't" that child will have an adverse reaction.

I'm not here to preach about anti- or pro- gay rights. My only point is that methods of Provocation only yield losers on both sides.

The Jerusalem police had more than their hands full with the anticipated reactions from the Arabs surrounding Jerusalem. Was this so important as to endanger the lives of innocent civilians in an event of an Arab attack?