Gay pride parade held in Jerusalem

About 2,000 participants turned out Thursday for Jerusalem’s annual gay pride parade.The event, which went ahead after Israel’s Supreme Court rejected last-minute appeals by opponents, was held under massive police security, as some 7,000 officers were deployed following threats by fervently Orthodox Jews.Earlier in the day, a 32-year old fervently Orthodox man with an explosive device was apprehended by police in downtown Jerusalem. The man said he had planned to set off the bomb in bushes near the march to scare away participants.Protests against the annual gay pride event in Jerusalem had increased in recent days despite calls by some fervently Orthodox rabbis for community members to stay home and pray. Some protests had been violent.