Israeli police say they are stepping up security measures for this week’s gay pride parade in Jerusalem after a deadly attack at last year’s festivities.
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Police said Schlissel was taken for questioning from his cell and his brother, Michael, was arrested as an accomplice.
Jerusalem’s mayor says he will forgo the city’s annual gay pride parade because it is offensive to religious residents. To make matters worse, it appeared that this disgusting, targeted attack against the LGBT community could have been avoided, after it was revealed that Schlissel had been charged and imprisoned after a similar attack on the city’s Pride parade in 2005 – he had just been released from prison prior to 2015’s attack.
Thousands of people are expected to march through central Jerusalem, with an extra 2,000 police on hand to secure the marchers in the wake of last year’s attack.
Commenting on the arrests in advance of the parade, Jerusalem district police commander Yoram Halevy said: “We have foiled and prevented plans to harm human life in the course of the parade itself”.
Officers said they would ramp up security for this year’s march in Jerusalem.
Yishai Schlissel is escorted by police after his hearing at the Jerusalem Magistrates Court, Aug. 11, 2015.
The conflict reached its apex a year ago when ultra-Orthodox extremist Yishai Schlissel began stabbing participants, killing the 16-year-old girl and wounding seven others.
The Israeli army’s newly nominated chief rabbi, Colonel Eyal Karim, has called gay people “sick and disabled”, and another prominent rabbi, Yigal Levinstein, the head of a pre-military academy, recently described LGBT people as “deviants”.
Nearly one year on from Shira’s tragic death, her parents Ori and Mika Banki, released a statement calling for all who oppose violence to join them in marching. Protesters on Thursday held signs such as “Jerusalem is not Sodom”.
“I understand the pain and criticism of those who disagree with my decision not to participate in today’s march”, Barkat said in a statement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a special statement in support.
After the interview, Barkat sent out a series of tweets reaffirming his support for the LBGT community and their right to march. It is not a march “for” or ‘against.’ It is a march of all of us.
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“We march together in Shira’s memory, we will remember her with love and longing, we will not let others sow separation among us”, he adds.
