Tens of thousands of people attended this year’s Pride Parade in Tel Aviv on Friday, celebrating the LGBTQ community and calling for equality in the largest annual gathering of its kind in the Middle East.
The sprawling event in Israel’s seaside metropolis, which resembles a festive block party, returned last year after pandemic restrictions were mostly lifted. This year it is being held after Israel reopened to foreign tourists.
“We have a majority here in Israel that supports this community,” said Mayor Ron Huldai.
“Tel Aviv has always been home for every transgender person, and every lesbian and gay person, and the home of anyone who wants to be who they are.” The crowds have grown so big over the years that this time around the organisers moved the event from the seaside promenade to a larger venue. Israeli authorities have been increasingly concerned about managing crowds since a stampede at a religious festival in northern Israel last year that killed 45 ultra-Orthodox Jews, the deadliest civilian disaster in the country’s history.