In quite a few places, such as Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other areas, pride parades have become routine.
If there is one place where it is very difficult to imagine a parade of this kind, it is a religious settlement in Judea and Samaria.
All this may change soon following an initiative to hold a pride parade in the Efrat local council in Gush Etzion, which is causing a stir.
"On Friday, June 3, a protest march will be held for pride and equal rights in Efrat and Gush Etzion," wrote a surfer in some of the residents' groups of Gush Etzion and Efrat.
"The parade will pass from the northern gate in Efrat at 10:00 to the southern gate. Volunteers and ushers are needed. The parade is held with the approval of the Israel Police, and according to the right to demonstrate as part of freedom of expression."
It should be noted that as far as is known, this is a private initiative of one person, and it is not at all clear how many residents are behind it, let alone participate in the parade.
The initiative for the parade, which became the talk of the day in the urban locality, which has about 14,000 residents and is considered relatively liberal, comes after a survey published about a month ago by the locality's youth headquarters, in which residents were asked to express their views on various issues related to the LGBT community. The residents' position on the integration of same-sex families in the religious community, including in the synagogue, as well as the raising of LGBT flags.
Following the survey, a storm arose, and a letter was published signed by a significant number of the local rabbis in which they attacked the initiative and sharply criticized its initiators.
Residents see the same survey, published in early April, as a preliminary step towards a pride march, which if held will probably be the first of its kind in a religious locality.
Although Efrat is a community with a religious character that is considered religiously moderate and alongside the religious residents, there are also those who do not lead a religious lifestyle, but the survey and the parade provoke anger and allegations of deliberate provocation.
The Efrat local council rejected the initiative and clarified that it was a statement of intent of an individual.
This is a former resident of the locality, some of whose family members still live there.
"These days, a guy who has not lived in Efrat for several years now advertises that he intends to hold such a march, all on his own merits," it was stated in response to Israel Hayom's request.
The council added that, "The council is a compass in the ability to act for all its residents !! All this with sensitivity and no sense in the common life of the community in Efrat."
Finally, they reiterated that "the council is not part of the organization in any way."
The discourse regarding dealing with the LGBT community in the religious community is not new, especially in the locality of Efrat. As early as 2018, a conference on the LGBT issue was held in Efrat.
Then the head of the council, Oded Ravibi, said that he decided to hold the conference after being exposed to the high suicide rates among LGBT people in the religious sector. Their not knowing who they can talk to and consult about what they are feeling.
This is twice as true in our public because there is a religious-religious-halakhic volume here that complicates the issue. "
Alongside this he emphasized in the same interview, "We are not looking for recognition, encouragement or identification this evening. It is not something you can come up with and say 'next year will be a pride parade in Efrat'. This is really not the event."
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