Israel's Prime Minister Expresses Support; Vigils Worldwide in Wake of Tel Aviv Anti-Gay Attack

A masked gunman burst into a meeting of GLBT youth in Tel Aviv on Saturday, Aug. 1, mowing down a dozen victims, two of whom died.

In the wake of that attack, Israel's GLBT equality advocates have met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who paid a personal visit to the site of the shooting, which equality activists have labeled a terror attack, reported Y Net News.com in an Aug. 6 article.

The two fatalities in the gunman's attack were Liz Trubeshi, 17, and Nir Katz, 26.

Despite the shock and horror at the violence that took place last week, Yaniv Weizman, the leader of Israel's Youth Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Association, expressed optimism that the bloodshed was not in vain.

"Things have changed," the Y Net article quoted Weizman as saying.

"The prime minister has expressed his support. The prime minister's message is very clear, a message of support of the community."

Added Weizman, "We expect a ministerial committee, full equal rights for the community, and that our relationships are not outlawed.

"Another thing is education, education, education, curbing homophobia, and the third thing is the whole matter of incitement."

Gay equality activists had written a letter to Netanyahu expressing concern over what they saw as "incitement" against Israel's GLBTs emanating from the government, reported an Aug. 8 article at Haaretz.com

"More than once we hear grave instances of incitement from many officials, including members of Knesset and ministers in your government," the letter, which was given to Netanyahu during his meeting with GLBT leaders, read in part.

"We, the members of the LGBT community in Israel experience verbal and physical violence on a daily basis," the letter went on to note.

"The day after this horrendous murder is not the same as the days before," added the letter. "Woe to us if the blood of those killed an injured was spilled in vain."

Weizman spoke in similar terms, as quoted in the Y Net News article. "It can't be that within the Netanyahu government, there are ministers and Knesset members that speak out against the community," he said.

"We have asked the prime minister to label this incident as a terror attack," added Weizman.

As for the meeting with Netanyahu, which took place at the site of the shooting, Weizman said, "It was a very positive meeting, the prime minister expressed his full support."

Some criticized Netanyahu for not allowing journalists to attend the meeting, which was undertaken with security measures in place. However, several government and police officials attended, indicating that both state and local government are taking the attack seriously.

Across the world, the greater Jewish and GLBT communities are also taking the attack to heart. In Boston, the Jewsih community observed a vigil for the shooting victims on Aug. 5, reported a Y Net News.com article from the following day.

The vigil, which took place at Boston's Temple Israel, included a speech from the cousin of one of the victims.

Abby Noble, the cousin of Nir Katz, addressed the crowd, dismissing any notion that her slain family member could be reduced to any demographic.

Noble added that Katz's loves were his partner Thomas and and their pet cats, the article said.

A New England-based Israeli diplomat, Nadav Tamir, was quoted as saying, "The implications of the horrors which befell the Katz and Trubeshi families, as well as the entire gay community, are not only an obligation to remember those who are no longer with us, but are also a call to action for all of us here tonight.

"As Jews, we cannot accept the hatred which members of the homosexual community are made to deal every day," Tamir added.

"As humans and global citizens, we must not tolerate intolerance any longer," he continued.

The executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, Nancy K. Kaufman, made a statement on the attack, saying, "We strongly condemn this weekend's brutal and hateful attack on the gay and lesbian youth center in Tel Aviv."

Added Kaufman, "We commend Israeli officials who are professionally and diligently pursuing those responsible for the attacks and will bring them to justice.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and the victims' families of this weekend's deadly attack in Tel Aviv."

Kaufman noted, "Israel is a vibrant and diverse democracy in which gays and lesbians serve in the military and participate fully in Israeli society.

"We hope that this attack will inspire all of us to reject hatred and bigotry in all of its forms and work together to build a stronger and more cohesive society wherever we live."

On Aug. 4, about 1,500 protesters took to the streets of Berlin, a third Y Net News.com story dated Aug. 5 reported.

The story quoted an Israeli named Aviv Neter, who lives in Berlin and attended the rally.

Neter, a friend of Katz, said that "the German gay and lesbian community organized everything" for the rally to take place.

"Israelis here were, and still are, shocked by the incident," Neter continued, adding, "A very famous drag queen named Viagra organized the rally. She contacted me seeing as I organize gay parties for Israelis in Berlin and found out that I knew Nir personally, so I also made a speech and it was very moving."

Neter said that clubs in Berlin posted images of the rainbow flag and memorial candles on their Web sites in solidarity.

"It was amazing," Neter went on, talking about the protest. "I couldn't believe it; literally everybody was there. We were there--a group of Israelis along side Germans, and people just cried they were so moved."

Added Neter, "I've lived in Berlin for three years now and the Holocaust victims' monument is a place I take everyone who come to visit me, but I never believed I'd lay flowers on it in memory of a murdered friend."

The masked gun-wielding killer has not as yet been apprehended.