Tel Aviv Pride in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 8, 2023. (Photo by Roni Kamzani/Tel Aviv Global and Tourism)
More than 200,000 people took part in Tel Aviv-Jaffa Pride events that ended Saturday, June 10.
Around 150,000 people took part in the Pride parade that took place on Thursday on the Tel Aviv Promenade, and about 60,000 more attended the Pride party on Friday.
It is not clear if the weekend, defined by the organizers as “the biggest Pride weekend ever,” was indeed the biggest in terms of the number of participants, but it was undoubtedly the most continuous.
The marchers began to gather on Tel Aviv Promenade on Thursday afternoon. Unlike previous years, this time there were no events or gathering at the beginning of the parade with the exception of the information and sales booths scattered along the promenade.
Tel Aviv-Jaffa Mayor Ron Huldai and Deputy Mayor Meital Lehavi started the parade shortly after 5 p.m.
“Pride weekend started with a clear message for everyone,” said Huldai at the start of the parade, “We are all equal, we are all human, and we all deserve to love without fear, whoever we want. Happy Pride to all … Enjoy!”
At the head of the procession was the Tel Aviv-Yafo LGBTQ Center float, followed by eight floats of the Shufi Women’s party, the Layla Bar, the One Night Only drag show, Erika, Crush, Shpagat and Marsha College. Dancers and DJs from the best gay clubs in the city descended to the promenade one by one and began to go along the parade route.
The parade’s last float from the Hevruta organization, which is at the center of the fight against conversion “Mishani,” delivered the 2023 Pride parade’s most important and difficult statement. Coffins wrapped in black were placed on the truck and wreaths with the inscription “Who will be the next victim” were placed on them. Between the bass and the dance songs of the various groups, Hevrata’s truck ended the parade with quiet Israeli songs, with the organization’s staff standing on the truck carrying signs that read “conversion treatments = death.”
The second part of Tel Aviv’s Pride weekend began on Friday with the Pride party at Yehoshua Gardens.
Nadav Bornstein and Ya’oz Levy moderated the event and featured many artists. Noa Tashbi, Neta Barzilai, Ivri Lider, Ran Denker and Shiri Maimon were among them.
“Our Pride parade is one of the largest and most important in the world and it is definitely a reason to be proud,” said Lehavi, Tel Aviv’-Jaffa’s deputy mayor who is in charge of the LGBTQ issues in the city municipality. “Unfortunately, not everything is rosy and the government that threatens democracy also threatens human rights and the rights of the community in particular. Today, more than ever, the community is at the forefront of the fight for equality and human rights in Israel in 2023, rights that we march for every night to protect. The place of the community must be guaranteed in the entire State of Israel. Tens of thousands (of people who are) all shades of LGBTQ and the people: Secular, religious, leftists, rightists, from around the world and from around the country are marching, conveying a message to everyone: Without democracy there is no pride and there is no pride without democracy.”
A wide variety of events took place in the city in the weeks leading up to Pride weekend. They included a gay theater festival, a support rally for gay youth, the traditional Wigstock show, a gay wedding event, an art festival and family events.
WDG is the Washington Blade’s media partner in Israel. WDG originally published this article on its website. The National LGBT Media Association represents 13 legacy publications in major markets across the country with a collective readership of more than 400K in print and more than 1 million + online. Learn more here: NationalLGBTMediaAssociation.com
