Over 100,000 people took part in Tel Aviv’s annual Pride Parade last weekend. This is the 21st year that the event has taken place in Israel's so called Gay Capitol, after its cancellation last year due to the pandemic.
This year’s parade theme was "Community Creates Change," and its route was shortened. 2,000 police officers, 300 cameras and drones and a police helicopter safeguarded the participants.
Six people were detained by police forces, suspected of posing a threat to the public attending the Pride Parade. Two of them were activating drones. A 30 year old man was arrested with assault weapons in his possession.
Mayor of Tel Aviv, Ron Huldai, spoke in front of thousands of participants in the march: “I won’t be satisfied with the celebrations. I want to be able to take part in gay weddings here in Israel. I want to be able to celebrate with gay couples when surrogacy is finally allowed, here in Israel, without having to go abroad. I don’t want to attend another trans woman’s funeral. I want to celebrate your rights, and I’m sure that a large part of the Israeli public wants to celebrate together with me.”
“We have the privilege of living here equally, and now we also have influence from within the government,” Israel’s Minister of Health, Nitzan Horovitz, openly gay himself, said.
Minister of Transport Meirav Michaeli added: “This is such a happy event, reminding us that the struggle is not over, and that we won’t rest until we win.”
