"You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy."
It's from Leviticus 19:2, just a few verses past Leviticus 18:22, which some people are fond of citing to justify behavior like this:
Thousands of haredim demonstrated in Jerusalem Sunday against this week's planned gay parade in what began as a mostly peaceful protest, save for one incident during which a policewoman had to be evacuated after she was hit by a rock thrown by a protester.
Six policemen were subsequently wounded in the stone throwing, and were treated by medics on the scene. The demonstrators, who also set trash bins on fire on a central city thoroughfare, were dispersed by police. Fifteen protesters were arrested at the scene.
Does that sound holy to you? What the hell is wrong with these people?
The good news:
The evening protest was marked both by its surprisingly low turnout - estimated by police to be around 10,000 people - and relative calm for such a heated issue. A smaller demonstration was also held in Bnei Brak during which at least one protester was arrested.
The relatively small number of protesters represented a stunning defeat for the haredi organizers of the protest, who had expected as many as 100,000 people to turn out in force, and reflected the differences of opinion in the haredi world whether clashes with police at the event would serve their cause, with some rabbis pointedly ordering their students to stay away from the event.
