You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Two killed in Tel Aviv gay center shooting
2009-08-03
[Al Arabiya Latest] A masked man opened fire on a crowd in front of a gay community center in Tel Aviv late Saturday, killing two people and wounding at least 11 others, Israeli emergency services said.

A young man and a young woman were killed on the spot while one of the wounded was in serious condition, they said.

The shooting spree in central Tel Aviv set off a citywide security clampdown, reviving memories of Palestinian attacks that have ebbed in recent years. But a police spokesman said that the incident was "criminal, rather than nationalistic."

" We are only at the first stage of the investigation, we continue our search and we are not sure of the motive of this attack since the center has not received any threats recently "
Tel Aviv Police Chief Shahar Ayalon

The gunman, who was dressed in black, unloaded an automatic weapon on the young group of gays and lesbians at the entrance of the center, located in the heart of Tel Aviv, and then ran away, witnesses said.

Coastal, cosmopolitan Tel Aviv has a bustling gay scene, but open homosexuality is less welcome in conservative areas of the Jewish state. Annual gay pride parades in Jerusalem meet with often violent protests from ultra-Orthodox Jews.

Homophobic attack
" It is not surprising that such a crime can be committed given the incitement of hatred against the homosexual community "
Mai Pelem, president of Tel Aviv's gay and lesbian community
Tel Aviv Police Chief Shahar Ayalon ordered the closure of a nearby gay bar in the city and urged such establishments to remain vigilant. "We are only at the first stage of the investigation, we continue our search and we are not sure of the motive of this attack since the center has not received any threats recently," Ayalon said.

Representatives of the gay community believe it was a homophobic attack. "It is not surprising that such a crime can be committed given the incitement of hatred against the homosexual community," the president of Tel Aviv's gay and lesbian community, Mai Pelem, told reporters.

Pelem was referring to verbal attacks against gays from the religious community.

In the past, swastikas had been painted at the entrance to the center in an attempt to stigmatize homosexuals.

The head of Israel's gay and lesbian national association, Mike Hamel, told journalists: "In our worst nightmares we could not have imagined that the hatred against our community, which is hurting nobody, could go this far."

Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich, also said he thought the attack had homophobic motives and promised the police would do everything possible to arrest the gunman, military radio reported.

If the motive is confirmed, it would be the worst homophobic attack against Israel's gay and lesbian community.

In 2005, an ultra-Orthodox Jew stabbed three participants of the gay pride parade. He was later sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Tel Aviv, unlike Jerusalem, is widely seen as being very liberal city. Israeli media said police had warned other gay clubs in Tel Aviv to close for fear of a follow-up attack.
Posted by:Fred

#2  A veritable plethora of suspects here.
Posted by: tu3031   2009-08-03 11:38  

#1  If you think the Jewish Orthodox crowd are homophobic, wait until the goatherders over in Gaza get a crack at you.
Posted by: Sonny Ebbeamp1305   2009-08-03 10:44  

00:00