Is this a cause for great joy? Are the three great religions united at last? Is peace about to break out in the Middle East?

Well, no.

International gay leaders are planning a 10-day WorldPride festival and parade in Jerusalem in August, saying they want to make a statement about tolerance and diversity in the Holy City, home to three great religious traditions.

Now major leaders of the three faiths – Christianity, Judaism and Islam – are making a rare show of unity to try to stop the festival. They say the event would desecrate the city and convey the erroneous impression that homosexuality is acceptable.

“They are creating a deep and terrible sorrow that is unbearable,” Shlomo Amar, Israel’s Sephardic chief rabbi, said yesterday at a news conference in Jerusalem attended by Israel’s two chief rabbis, the patriarchs of the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian churches, and three senior Muslim prayer leaders. “It hurts all of the religions. We are all against it.”

::heavy sigh::

Why, why can’t they all be against something that matters, like for instance war? Terrorism? Hate? Intolerance? Killing other people for the sake of religion? Why is it that homosexuality trumps all of the above?

Apparently, the forces of evil (that’s the “Religious Right,” nu?) have succeeded in exporting their brand of judgemental intolerance to the Holy Land. A prominent clergyman active in the anti-gay movement has been busy makin’ contacts, rilin’ clerics up in Israel.

In spite of appearances, there is a lot of support for the festival in Israel, and in fact smaller gay pride parades have been held in Jerusalem for the past 3 years without incident. Some other religious leaders have something positive to say:

Organizers of the gay pride event, Jerusalem WorldPride 2005, said that 75 non-Orthodox rabbis had signed a statement of support for the event, and that Christian and Muslim leaders as well as Israeli politicians were expected to announce their support soon. They said they were dismayed to see that what united their opponents was their objection to homosexuality.

“That is something new I’ve never witnessed before, such an attempt to globalize bigotry,” said Hagai El-Ad, the executive director of Jerusalem Open House, a gay and lesbian group that is the host for the festival. “It’s quite sad and ironic that these religious figures are coming together around such a negative message.”

Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, co-chairwoman of the festival and the rabbi of Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, a gay synagogue in New York City, said the controversy was another sign that each religion had become polarized between its liberal and conservative wings.

The global Anglican Communion split deeply over homosexuality in the last two years after its American affiliate ordained an openly gay bishop and the Canada affiliate decided to allow blessings of same-sex unions.

“I reject that they have the right to define religion in such a narrow way,” Rabbi Kleinbaum said of religious leaders who denounce homosexuality. “Gay and lesbian people are saying we are equal partners in religious communities, and we believe in a religious world in which all are created in God’s image.”

I reject that they have the right to define religion in such a narrow way, too, Rabbi Kleinbaum.

via ***Dave