10,000 attend Jerusalem Gay Pride as 52 detained over plans to disrupt it

Number of attendees significantly smaller than previous year, but among those marching was Justice minister Amir Ohana

8 June 2019, 8:56 am

Members and sympathizers of the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) community participate in the annual Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem, Israel, 06 June 2019. Under heavy police security, thousands of people marched at the 18th Jerusalem March for pride and tolerance, this year's parade theme is "One Community - Many Faces" as marchers call for equality, security and freedom for the LGBT community. Photo by: JINIPIX

Members and sympathizers of the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) community participate in the annual Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem, Israel, 06 June 2019. Under heavy police security, thousands of people marched at the 18th Jerusalem March for pride and tolerance, this year's parade theme is "One Community - Many Faces" as marchers call for equality, security and freedom for the LGBT community. Photo by: JINIPIX

Members and sympathizers of the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) community participate in the annual Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem, Israel, 06 June 2019. Photo by: JINIPIX

Members and sympathizers of the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) community participate in the annual Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem, Israel, 06 June 2019. Photo by: JINIPIX

Members and sympathizers of the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) community participate in the annual Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem, Israel, 06 June 2019. Under heavy police security, thousands of people marched at the 18th Jerusalem March for pride and tolerance, this year's parade theme is "One Community - Many Faces" as marchers call for equality, security and freedom for the LGBT community. Photo by: JINIPIX

Members and sympathizers of the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) community participate in the annual Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem, Israel, 06 June 2019. Under heavy police security, thousands of people marched at the 18th Jerusalem March for pride and tolerance, this year's parade theme is "One Community - Many Faces" as marchers call for equality, security and freedom for the LGBT community. Photo by: JINIPIX

Members and sympathizers of the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) community participate in the annual Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem, Israel, 06 June 2019. Under heavy police security, thousands of people marched at the 18th Jerusalem March for pride and tolerance, this year's parade theme is "One Community - Many Faces" as marchers call for equality, security and freedom for the LGBT community. Photo by: JINIPIX

Members and sympathizers of the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) community participate in the annual Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem, Israel, 06 June 2019. Under heavy police security, thousands of people marched at the 18th Jerusalem March for pride and tolerance, this year's parade theme is "One Community - Many Faces" as marchers call for equality, security and freedom for the LGBT community. Photo by: JINIPIX

Members and sympathizers of the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) community participate in the annual Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem, Israel, 06 June 2019. Under heavy police security, thousands of people marched at the 18th Jerusalem March for pride and tolerance, this year's parade theme is "One Community - Many Faces" as marchers call for equality, security and freedom for the LGBT community. Photo by: JINIPIX

Members and sympathizers of the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) community participate in the annual Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem, Israel, 06 June 2019. . Photo by: JINIPIX

Members and sympathizers of the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) community participate in the annual Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem, Israel, 06 June 2019. Under heavy police security, thousands of people marched at the 18th Jerusalem March for pride and tolerance, this year's parade theme is "One Community - Many Faces" as marchers call for equality, security and freedom for the LGBT community. Photo by: JINIPIX

More than 10,000 people marched in Jerusalem’s Pride parade, but 52 were detained or arrested on suspicion of trying to disrupt the event, police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld told the Jerusalem Post.

The number of attendees was significantly smaller than last year, when a record 30,000 people participated in the march in support of the LGBTQ community in the city.

Among the attendees were Justice Minister Amir Ohana, who became the country’s first openly gay government minister when he was appointed to the position on Wednesday.

Some participants booed Ohana, who is a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud Party.

Some 2,500 uniformed and plainclothes police officers were deployed to protect attendees. In 2015, a Charedi man stabbed to death a marcher, Shira Banki, 16, who was attending the parade in support of her LGBTQ friends.

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