Gay parade and Sabbath parking stir Jerusalem tension

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A gay pride parade on Thursday and the planned opening of a municipal parking lot on the Jewish sabbath will test the delicate balance between Jewish religious and secular lifestyles in Jerusalem. Organisers of the annual parade, which has touched off anti-gay protests by ultra-Orthodox Jews in the holy city in the past, said they did not expect violence at this year's event. But police said they were deploying some 1,500 officers -- albeit far fewer than in recent years -- along the route, which avoids neighbourhoods where traditionally black-garbed ultra-Orthodox Jews live. Many devout Jews, Muslims and Christians view... [read full story]                    

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