A man who stabbed and wounded three marchers in a Jerusalem gay pride parade last summer was sentenced today to 12 years in prison after being convicted of attempted murder.
Ishai Schlussel, an ultra-Orthodox Jew, told police he was on a mission from God to stop what he described as the abomination of homosexuals and lesbians marching through the holy city, Israeli media reports said.
Calling Schlussel a fanatic, the court said in its verdict that he had carried out the attack aware that he might have to pay a heavy personal price for his crime.
Authorities in Jerusalem, a city holy to Muslims, Christians and Jews, had tried to ban the parade for fear it could provoke violence, but they were overruled by Israel's High Court.
Thousands took part in the procession last June, dancing and waving through the centre of the city. At the entrance to Jerusalem, protesters had erected a banner that read "Welcome to Sodom".
A spokeswoman for the parade's organisers said the 12-year sentence handed down by the Jerusalem District Court was a victory for freedom of expression and equality for the gay community in Israel.
