Rabbi Stern
Rabbi Sternphoto by Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash 90


Chief rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Aryeh Stern, sent a letter to mayor Nir Barkat, requesting that “LGBT” flags that were hung ahead of the gay pride parade be taken down near synagogues around the city.

"Unfortunately, this year too it is planned to hold the march on which the spirit of the sages does not look kindly. We are already aware that it is impossible to prevent the march from being held, but we have one request not to hoist the flags on King George Street in the section of the Great Synagogue and the Yeshurun ​​Synagogue, which are considered symbols of the sanctity of Jerusalem."

"Everyone is able to understand that the flags that unfortunately symbolize the opposite are not to be waved next to them," the rabbi wrote to the mayor. It should be noted that this is not the first time Rabbi Stern turns to Barkat on this issue. Two years ago, his appeal was answered and the flags were removed from areas where there are synagogues.

Rabbi Stern was harshly criticized last week after speaking out against the LGBT demonstrations. Rabbi Stern was heard in a recording on Kan 11 being critical of single-sex couples raising children as if they were a normative family. “Nobody is talking about it, basically they are raising children that come into a very strange and unnatural life, without a father and mother. It is quite possible that the children will ultimately be miserable," said Rabbi Stern.

A few days later, following the criticism, a letter of support was published by hundreds of religious Zionist rabbis who responded to Rabbi Stern's remarks.