By Mark D. Zimmerman
MELVILLE, New York –As New York’s Gay Pride Parade celebrated the Supreme Court decision on same sex marriage, many groups attended the parade in support or in protest. What was unusual about the Jewish Political Action Committee, whose members were at the parade?
- This organization is a gay Orthodox group that was at the parade in support of the gay community and same sex marriage. However, the members of the group all wore masks to hide their identities, as they are not out in their communities, where homosexuality is considered a sin.
B. The group members were carrying signs protesting the possible deal between Iran and the Western powers regarding Iran’s nuclear energy program. When asked by a reporter why they were holding their protest at the Gay Pride Parade, Heshie Freed, spokesman for the group, said, “If the Iranians get nuclear weapons, it will mean the end of Israel and the end of the United States. We are prepared to show up anywhere and everywhere to raise the alarm that this so-called deal with Iran must not be signed and the Ayatollah must be stopped.”
C. This group of Orthodox Jews was protesting the parade based on their belief that homosexuality is a sin. They stood arm in arm with a group called Muslims for Traditional Values, who were there for the same reason. A month ago, however, the Muslim group had taunted the Jewish group at the Celebrate Israel parade in New York over their differences regarding Israel and Palestine. almost coming to blows until police separated them.
D. The members of this group of men wore tzitzit and carried signs referencing (among other things) the Biblical prohibition in Leviticus against homosexuality. Many of the men, however, were actually hired Mexican laborers dressed as Jews. A spokesman for the group explained that they usually bring yeshiva students to protests, but that “The rabbis said that the yeshiva boys shouldn’t come out for this because of what they would see at the parade.” Therefore, the workers were hired as “supplementary troops” in place of the students.
E. This group of Chassidic Jews was protesting the parade because of their belief that homosexuality is a sin. When the men and women in the group began to sing and dance the hora in sex-segregated circles, some parade marchers, assuming that this was a group of homosexual men and lesbian women, joined in the circles and danced with the protesters. A good time was had by all.
Link to answer:
http://rrrjewishtrivia.com/answers/same-sex-marriage-answer.html
*
Mark D. Zimmerman is the author of Rashi, Rambam and Ramalamadingdong series of Jewish trivia e-books. Learn more at rrrjewishtrivia.com.
__________________________________________________________
Care to comment? San Diego Jewish World is intended as a forum for the entire Jewish community, whatever your political leanings. Letters may be posted below provided they are civil, responsive to the article that prompted them, and signed with your first and last name, as well as with your city and state of residence. There is a limit of one letter per writer on any given day.
__________________________________________________________________