31^st July 2015
We are appalled and shocked by the knife attack at the Pride March in Jerusalem where six people were stabbed. We under­stand that two of them are in a critical condition. The Jewish community in Australia condemns the attack in the strongest possible terms, and we are pleased to see state­ments from Jewish community and religious leaders across the world express­ing outrage at the attack.
A pur­portedly religious Jewish extremist has been arrested in con­nec­tion with the attack. That person was released from prison three weeks ago, after serving a ten year sentence for a similar attack. We have con­fid­ence that the Israeli Justice system will deal with him appro­pri­ately.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families. We wish all the injured a speedy recovery.
Israel is known for its welcoming accept­ance of Jews of diverse sexual ori­ent­a­tion and gender identity, and for providing asylum to Palestini­an gays who are in mortal danger from their own community. Israel is a beacon to other nations, not just in the Middle East, but through­out the world for its inclusion of the LGBTI community and its embracing of diversity.