The Scriptorium

Awwwwww. That’s too bad. Coincidence? I doubt it.

The sudden outbreak of new violence in the Middle East may have the unexpected effect of cancelling the week-long homosexual extravaganza WorldPride in Jerusalem, scheduled for August 6 to 12.

An outcry went up from religious groups and faith communities around the world when Jerusalem was named by organizers as the city of choice for the next WorldPride event. The choice of Jerusalem was seen by many as a flagrant taunting of religious groups opposed to homosexuality, as was the choice of Rome for WorldPride 2000.

The gay pride event was originally scheduled to be held last year in Jerusalem, which led to concerted efforts by religious leaders in the country to block the homosexual celebration from taking place. Organizers eventually decided to postpone the event, citing upheaval due to the Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip.

Religious leaders from the Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities within Israel have been working together to prevent the event from taking place in the holy city—earlier in the month Jerusalem police officials finally conceded that the event would “likely” be moved to Tel Aviv. The decision was not finalized, but the police said in a statement to the press, “Tel Aviv is more used to such events, and therefore it should take place there also this time.”