Jerusalem Pride Parade Faces Threat of Violence, Police on High Alert

The Jerusalem Pride Parade is set to take place amid threats of violence by the far-right group Lehava. The police force is on high alert and has arrested three individuals for making threats to the parade. Some 2,000 cops, some of them undercover, are expected to be deployed along the march’s route and around it. The parade kicks off a series of national events marking LGBTQ Pride Month. Unlike its Tel Aviv counterpart, the Jerusalem Pride Parade is the subject of heavy security and restrictions after an ultra-Orthodox extremist, Yishai Schlissel, stabbed teenage marcher Shira Banki to death at the parade in 2015.