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This Is What Jerusalem’s Gay Pride Parade Looks Like

Israelis carry a gay pride rainbow flag with the Star of David during the annual Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade on July 21, 2016. Image by AFP/Getty Images

Josefin Dolsten

By Josefin Dolsten August 3, 2017

(JTA) — The turnout for Jerusalem’s Gay Pride Parade on Thursday was more than three times the expected number, with at least 14,000 people marching.

Some estimates said that up to 22,000 people attended the 16th annual march. Officials had expected some 4,000 participants, according to The Times of Israel.

Heavy security surrounded the parade, which in 2015 was the scene of a stabbing attack by a haredi Orthodox man that killed a 16-year-old girl. One thousand police officers and soldiers were deployed to secure the route, The Times of Israel reported.

Police detained 22 people, one of whom was found to be carrying a knife, they said on Twitter.

Josefin Dolsten is a New York-based writer who has reported for the Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel and other Jewish publications. She currently works as an account director at Fenton Communications, supporting organizations that work to advance racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive rights and more. Dolsten earned her B.A. in government from Cornell University and her M.A. in comparative religion and Jewish studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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This Is What Jerusalem’s Gay Pride Parade Looks Like

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