Tel Aviv Gay Pride Parade 2024 canceled out of respect for hostages; Tel Aviv mayor: ‘Not the time for celebrations’

Jerusalem Pride March to go ahead as scheduled

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The city of Tel Aviv canceled its annual Gay Pride Parade this year out of respect for the 132 Israeli hostages that are still being held captive by Hamas, Mayor Ron Huldai announced on Wednesday.

Instead of the parade, which has been held for over 20 years and is among the world’s largest events of its kind – attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors – Huldai said Tel Aviv will hold an alternative rally.

In a post on 𝕏, the Tel Aviv mayor wrote: “This is not the time for celebrations. In coordination with the organizations of the gay community, we decided that this year, instead of the pride parade, we will hold a rally in Tel Aviv-Yafo as a sign of pride, hope and freedom.”

“132 of our sons and daughters are still kidnapped in Gaza, the circle of bereavement is expanding every day and we are in one of the most difficult periods of the State of Israel,” he added.

“Out of our great commitment to the community, this year we decided to divert part of the budget intended for the production of the pride parade, in favor of the activities of the ‘Pride Center’ in Tel Aviv-Yafo.”

“We feel the pain of the entire country, and at the same time, we do not stop for a moment the fight for equality and freedom - for everyone and everything. See you at the Pride Parade in June 2025,” Huldai wrote.

Tel Aviv is well-known as a center for LGBT activism in Israel and the region and has topped several international lists compiling the world’s most “gay-friendly” cities.

Organizers of the annual “Pride and Tolerance March” in Jerusalem, meanwhile, announced the event would go ahead as planned on May 30, claiming it already contains an aspect of protest and would, therefore, be part of the struggle to return the Israeli hostages.

The Jerusalem Open House added that this year’s march in Jerusalem would serve as a demonstration of the entire LGBTQ community in Israel.

Contrary to the Tel Aviv event, the march in Jerusalem is opposed by large parts of the capital’s conservative and religious population, both Jewish and Arab.

The event is usually heavily secured by large police forces, especially because in 2015, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man stabbed and killed a woman at the parade.