Fridae

Some 4,ooo Israeli gays, lesbians and supporters took part in Jerusalem's first gay pride parade on Friday under heavy police protection amid fierce opposition from ultra-Orthodox Jews and other right-wingers.

Hundreds of policemen and policewomen patrolled downtown streets, which were decorated with balloons and flags during the peaceful half-hour march.

A witness saw about half a dozen anti-homosexual protesters taken away by police. A small group of protesters held a demonstration against the event, which they viewed as an abomination and waved placards that read "This is not Sodom" and "Go back to the closet," the demonstrators chanted "Homos go home."

"This is an immense desecration to God," said protester Mordechai Ben-Ya'acov in the Jerusalem Post.

Passersby who chanced upon the parade while shopping in the city center openly argued with another, with most voicing opposition to the event.

"Believe me, this country is just going from bad to worse. There are certain norms to a society, and a country that has no norms is committing suicide. What is right for Amsterdam isn't necessarily right for Jerusalem," the Post reported a resident as saying.

"I don't have to agree with them, but it's their right to hold a parade. They are not bothering me," another countered.

Mayor Ehud Olmert failed to convince organisers to hold the event in the far more easy-going Mediterranean city of Tel Aviv, which stages their own annual pride march. Despite refusing to fund the NIS 200,000 (US$40,000) event citing budgetary limitations, Olmert said he had to allow it to take place in the name of democracy.

Gay activists have appealed the decision to the High Court, which postponed a ruling for three months. The paper reported that the justices saying that if their ruling favours the gay and lesbian community, they would receive retroactive funding for the parade.