איתי

How often we are misled by our expectations and fears! What was I expecting? Confrontation? In-your-face provocation? Go-go boys in angel wings? Dykes on bikes? My boss announced yesterday that we were finishing earlier than usual and wouldn't it be a great idea if I went to Pride? "You have to! It's really important this time!" I grabbed a bite to eat, went home for a shower and then, headed up to Jerusalem.

On the way up, I met a kid named Oded on the bus who was unsure of the when or where of the Pride march and, despite being Israeli, didn't know the basic lay-out of the City at all. He could not make neither heads nor tails of my directions and asked if he could just tag along with me. When we exited the Jerusalem bus station on to Jaffa Road, we found that the street was closed (because of an angry Orthodox anti-march demonstration), and that what few buses were running seemed to have been re-routed and were no longer running near the station. We finally found a taxi driver willing to take us and he way under-charged us, saying we'd go bankrupt if he left the meter flying while he inched along the circuitous route that eventually got us around all the road closures. Sitting up front with him, he regaled me with hilarious stories in Hebrew and Arabic about his family and friends and about his multiple careers during his seven decades of living in Jerusalem.

Oded dials a friend

My friend and tragically straight ally, Eric had taken the train up earlier in the day and marched with me, snapping pictures as we went. ( He's the photographer in the family ) so, I am anxious to see his photos.

Trigger-happy

Of course, Eric was far from the only one with a camera. The TV crews were out in force, on-lookers took a few shots (but mostly seemed bored at how down-right tame the march was) and we post-modern marchers recorded ourselves for temporary posterity and deconstructed the event in progress. Eric mentioned that shooting crowd scenes can be tricky. I found that I was often too shy to snap a close-up of persons I found particularly interesting. It felt too much like a personal intrusion - even though we were all marching in the street! One boy had eyes the color of the sky.

and what i want to know is
how do you like your blueeyed boy

There were many supporters along the short march.

bikelovejones will immediately spot the bike helmet in the next photo. Coming by bicycle was absolutely the best way to get to Pride. The march was routed far from Orthodox neighborhoods in order not to offend. We started at the corner of Moshe Hess and King David streets, across from the Reform movement's Jerusalem seminary, Hebrew Union College (where Benjie is currently a student - for those of you who know him - which you can sort of see in the picture of Oded if you squint). We literally only marched a few hundred yards/meters. While we were marching, it was announced that the event that was supposed to have been held at the end of the route in Liberty Bell Park (גן הפעמון Gan ha-Pa'amon) had been cancelled. The police had just apprehended a religious man with a home-made bomb. Too bad, but better safe than sorry. So, because virtually every possible street leading to the very short march route had been closed off several blocks from the actual route and there were officers manning these roadblocks for everyone's safety - and because of all the Orthodox violence, the police had blocked the major road through Jerusalem so the Orthodox could stage an anti-march protest, the city was at a vehicular stand-still. Bikes, as always, were a godsend.

Abba! The balloons are nice but you promised 76 trombones...

The police honestly did a fabulous job. After a week of violent demonstrations on the part of Orthodox Jews who threw rocks and explosives at the police (which sent at least 20 officers to the hospital), police women and men had our backs ~ and fronts, for that matter! At 7,000 strong, they out-numbered us two to one.

Who's got your back?

Many of you sent me words of encouragement and I appreciate that more than you know. I had heard on the news just before heading to Jerusalem that Shas religious party MK Nissim Ze'ev, a currently sitting member of the Israeli Parliament, had just proposed that the government establish "rehabilitation centers to suppress sexual tendencies of homosexuals, lesbians. These people are dangerous and we must keep an eye on them."

The event itself was relaxed and there were a number of nices surprises. I ran into Daniel from Tsfat with two of his friends. ( I met Zack ) who joined Mashav and me for Pride back in November. I met a friend of Eric's, Adina Lepp who was interviewing people for an article she's writing for Portland's LGBT paper, Just Out. Her friend who is half Israeli and half Swedish is living at Kibbutz Ga'ash where I started my adventure in Israel 29 years ago. I also saw dear Hamada who was there with his partner. It was wonderful to see him looking so happy and well. When I got home, I was spent and my legs were both enflamed (again!). I took some antibiotics, filled a basin of cold water, stuck my feet in and peroused my email.

shanamadele sent me a wonderful quote by Gandhi which is on her work mug. Even if the Jerusalem sign-maker couldn't spell Gandhi's name, you'll no doubt recognize this mug: