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World Jewish News
PM condemns 'shocking' shooting
02.08.2009
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday condemned Saturday night's deadly shooting attack at a gay community center in Tel Aviv and promised to bring the perpetrator to justice.
"I unequivocally condemn the shocking murder," Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. "I have spoken with Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch and stand by the police in searching for and finding the killer. We will bring him to justice and will prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law."
Netanyahu sent his condolences to the families of the two people killed in the attack, and wished the wounded a speedy recovery.
"I say to the Israeli people: We are a democratic country, we are a country of tolerance, a country of laws, and we must respect every person, whoever and wherever he is," he said.
President Shimon Peres said in a statement that "the dreadful murder that was committed yesterday in Tel Aviv against teenagers and young people is a murder that a cultured and enlightened people cannot accept."
"Murder and hate are the two most terrible crimes in society," Peres said in a statement. "Police must make a supreme effort to capture the loathsome murderer and the people must join together in condemning this despicable act."
Ministers also condemned the attack in harsh terms, with Vice Premier Silvan Shalom calling it a "terror attack."
"This is a terrible and grave incident, where young people are hurt for no fault of their own," he said. "This cannot be called anything other than a terror attack, and it necessitates thorough investigation and the bringing of the murderer to justice."
Defense Minister Ehud Barak urged police to "do their utmost to suppress this type of criminal action."
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni also expressed her "sadness and shock" Sunday morning over the attack.
"Even if the details are not yet fully known, hate exists and we must deal with it," Livni said in a statement. "This difficult event must bring society to shake off prejudice, and to accept and recognize the right of every person to live in respect and safety."
Meanwhile, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai said the shooting would not deter the city's residents, who would continue to support the gay community. "Tel Aviv has always been a bastion of pluralism, tolerance and openness, and no one will succeed in hurting the city's character," he said. "Our city will continue to be a home for the gay community, and we will fight for the right of every person to live his life in the city according to his beliefs and conscience."
Within a couple of hours of Saturday night's attack, hundreds of members of the city's gay and lesbian community gathered with placards and candles to protest the killings, while Shas was accused by some of inciting the attack.
"I warned in a column last year that Israel is a place which on the one hand has liberal laws, but on the other does not attempt to counter homophobia," Danny Zak, a journalist and gay rights advocate, told the Jerusalem Post during the demonstration. "A murder was waiting to happen," Zak added.
"The Shas party has the blood of two innocent kids on their hands," he said. "Shas has blamed gays for earthquakes and diseases. This is incitement, but no one is put on trial for it," he said.
Shas released a statement following the shooting in which it called for the attacker "to be found and tried. Murder is of course against the Torah's path and every attack is a contravention of the religion of Israel."
Meretz MK Nitzan Horovitz, who is gay, arrived at the scene of the shooting. "There has been non-stop incitement," he told the Post. "I very much hope this is not the result of comments made by public figures and Knesset members. They need to understand that some people will take action."
Last year, former Shas MK Shlomo Benizri said that homosexual behavior was the cause of earthquakes.
During a special Knesset session on seismic activity, Benizri - recently sentenced to four years in jail for corruption - proposed that the Knesset "find a way to prevent mishkav zachar [sexual relations between men], and thus save [us] a lot of earthquakes."
Horovitz spoke again of the incitement against the gay community in an interview with Army Radio on Sunday morning.
"I get weekly complaints from people in various sectors, mainly haredi and Arab, of threats, discrimination and attacks," he said. "If you just take a look at certain Web sites and talkbacks, hear the public discourse and hear what educators say, you are shocked by the level of incitement."
He said the fact that the location of the center had been disclosed and that the murderer knew exactly where to go were serious blows to the gay community.
"We are always trying to find a discreet place... it isn't a pub or a club, it's a basement apartment used for many years as a community center... the murderer knew exactly where to go," he said, adding that the secrecy of the destination "blew up in our faces."
Stressing that the murderer had not been caught and the motive had still not been determined, the Meretz MK said, however, that the attack appeared to be "the result of incitement of entire communities against us."
Horovitz said he had asked Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin to convene a special session on the attack.
"The Knesset must declare that this was a terror attack against the whole of Israeli society and our right to live freely," he said.
The lawmaker also called on Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar "to enable open debate on these matters," in order avoid the tendency among young homosexuals to hide away.
Horovitz lamented that "maybe the good atmosphere in Tel Aviv and the sense of freedom was a bit of an illusion."
Expressing a similar sentiment, recording artist and gay icon Ivri Lider told the radio station on Sunday that the attack "shows that even Tel Aviv is not a safe place for gays."
Also speaking to the station Sunday, Yaniv Weisman, chairman of the Israeli Gay Youth organization, said it had been a "very long and difficult night."
But a defiant Lior Kay, a gay rights activist who took part in Saturday night's demonstration, said, "I just want say one thing. We will not be intimidated. We will not be frightened by this act of terrorism."
The gay community was due to hold another demonstration at 5 p.m. on Thursday near the scene of the shooting.
Источник: JPost.com
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