Gay parades take place every year not only in counties that have no relation to religious values (I’m talking Judaism, Islam and Christianity since all three monotheistic faiths rail against homosexuality), but right here in Israel, the epicenter of all three religions. The “Gay Pride Parade” (what exactly are they so “proud” of??) takes place in Tel-Aviv and now Jerusalem as well. Why does the “proud” community feel an urge to parade its moral deprivation? Why do these people feel an urge to take away from my rights as a straight man by parading around the streets of our cities in their underclothing? Does this bring them any closer to having their rights recognized? Should they have special privileges that I don’t have? Should they be allowed to be the teachers of my kids? Hold political power? Sway the public to associate with their degeneration?

Living in Tel-Aviv for six years, I ran into a lot of these people. They felt completely at ease starting conversations that would turn into sexual harassment with me. Am I the only one whom this bothers so much? Should I have taken their advances as a sign that I’m an “attractive man?” Should I have felt flattered perhaps?

These are the basic questions that people should start asking themselves. Are we an “open” society that allows anyone and everyone to do as they please or are we a Jewish state with moral clarity? Does a Jewish state mean that homosexuals should be allowed to hold “Gay Pride” parades at their whim? What does it mean to be an “open” society? Should we be “open” to injustice and suffering or should we be “open” to positive behavior? What is the definition of “positive behavior?”

If the answer to these questions is that the Torah defines what’s “positive” and “good,” Israel will indeed become an open society: open to good rather than evil; to the things that are right rather than wrong. If we’re to be just like everyone else; to set aside the whole “Light upon the Nations” idea, then we should by all means encourage our children not to be tolerant to others (because tolerance is a good thing), but rather to strive to be as gay as humanly possible, but we should also quit claiming to be a “Jewish” state.

Rashi talks about the results of such an approach. According to the most widely accepted Torah scholar to have lived, the result of sexual decadence is…the end of the world. We won’t be nuked by Iran and there won’t be a climate crisis that will bring about an end to human life on Earth thanks to our good deeds and charity. We WILL go down as a society and as a people if we don’t wake up and realize that being “open” has nothing to do with accepting evil–rather that the opposite is true.

“Gay Pride” parades? What purpose do they serve other than to cause anger on the part of the local religious community? Does it enlighten people to the positive values of gay culture? Do a bunch of old men flaunting their sagging biceps evoke any positive emotions? Even the ardent gay rights supporters can’t bear to look at these scenes. Do people become more aware of the problems facing the “proud community” by seeing a motorcade parading a bunch of jobless, used-up, not-a-care-in-the-world other than some quality porn folks go by?

I urge the “gay rights” activists among you to rethink your support for immorality. Would you look favorably upon your own brother or sister parading around in his/her lingerie in broad daylight? If you support the gay community doing this, that means you don’t care about them because if you did care and were a true friend, you’d try to help them out. You’re not helping by encouraging them. It’s kind of like a grownup telling a child to continue acting up and expect that child to grow up and become a responsible adult. Think about it next time you attend a “Gay Pride” parade.