The annual gay pride parade in Tel Aviv has been canceled by Mayor Ron Huldai due to concerns for Israeli hostages held in Gaza
Instead of the usual march, Huldai said that the city and LGBTQ+ organizations would host a rally for “pride, hope and freedom.”
Making the announcement on Wednesday, the mayor said that the parade was canceled because of the continued plight of the hostages in Gaza.
“This isn’t the time for celebrations,” Huldai wrote on the State of Israel.”
The annual parade is normally considered a highlight of the city’s calendar, drawing in a crowd of tens of thousands of locals and visitors from all over the world. For the last 25 years, the street festivities have celebrated Israel’s LGBTQ+ community.
Mayor Ron Huldai opening Tel Aviv’s pride parade in 2023 (Photo: X)
“Tel Aviv is the home of the LGBTQ+ community. It always has been and always will be,” Huldai said.
“This year we decided to divert part of the budget intended for the production of the pride parade, in favor of the activities of the “Pride Center” in Tel Aviv-Yafo.”
The Pride Center offers a home to the LGBTQ+ community in Tel Aviv-Jaffa and the surrounding areas. It is an umbrella organization for local LGBTQ+ activity and social involvement, as well as counseling services.
“We feel the pain of the entire country, and at the same time, we do not stop for a moment the fight for equality and freedom – for everyone and everything. See you at the Pride Parade in June 2025,” he tweeted.
In Jerusalem, the Pride and Tolerance March on May 30 will still be held along the traditional parade route and the event has been billed as part of the wider protest movement for the return of the hostages.
As they confirmed that the capital’s annual march would go ahead, organizers The Jerusalem Open House, noted that the parade was already characterized as a protest.
The annual LGBTQ+ march through Jerusalem is seen as a rejection of the religious fundamentalists who seek to limit gay rights in Israel’s capital and across the country. In 2015, the Jerusalem pride parade was the scene of a deadly attack by an ultra-Orthodox knifeman.
