(TOI) – More than 2,500 officers were set to be deployed Thursday in Jerusalem as the city hosts its 18th annual Gay Pride parade, with police vowing to “act decisively” against anyone who tried to disrupt the event or harm participants. Meanwhile, in a clear show of support for the LGBT community, police revealed that in recent months the force has recruited several transgender trainees and that one of them has already completed her course and is working her beat, Channel 12 reported.
The move, together with the preemptive arrest of a right-wing activist, marks a shift for police, who have been widely faulted for failing to adequately protect previous marches and for still not solving a mass shooting at a Tel Aviv gay youth center a decade ago. Four years ago, 16-year-old Shira Banki was stabbed to death by Yishai Schlissel, an ultra-Orthodox extremist. Schlissel had stabbed and wounded three people in 2005 and police were criticized for allowing him to approach the parade again soon after being released from prison. READ MORE
