Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows authorities will find the gunman who killed two and injured 15 at a Tel Aviv gay youth club over the weekend."We'll bring him to justice and exercise the full extent of the law against him," Netanyahu said Sunday at the Israeli Cabinet's weekly meeting.
At this hour, hundreds of police officers are going door-to-door and combing the streets of Israel's largest city in a "massive" manhunt for the gunman who killed a 26-year-old man and 17-year-old girl in a shooting rampage, described as the "worst attack ever against the gay community in Israel."
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld describes the carnage: "A masked man entered the center for gay teens in downtown Tel Aviv late Saturday night, pulled out a pistol and opened fire. The shooter then concealed his weapon and fled the scene on foot into the busy streets outside the center."
Israel's gays enjoy Western-style freedoms and Tel Aviv has often been compared to New York City or San Francisco. Gays serve in the Army and Tel Aviv holds an annual gay pride march. But Orthodox Jews often protest violently against LGBTs and one is currently serving 12 years for knifing three people at a 2005 Jerusalem gay parade.
AFTER THE JUMP, watch a report on the shooting rampage and video of the weekend protest rallies.
I have no affection for the state of Israel, and even less for right-winger Netanyahu. But can you imagine for one minute a right-wing politician in this country vowing to bring to justice the murderers of a two gay young people?
Here, the pastors would be saying that it was all God’s punishment, the congregations would be saying “Amen” and stuffing their dollars in the collection plates, and the politicians would be completely silent.
Posted by: Jim | 03 August 2009 at 23:35