In Pics | Tens of thousands march in Israel's Tel Aviv Pride parade

Thousands of people took part in the annual Pride parade in Tel Aviv on Thursday, June 8. People wore colourful outfits and waved the rainbow flag. 

At the start of the parade, Tel Aviv Mayor, Ron Huldai said “Pride weekend has kicked off with a clear message: We are all equal, we are all people, and we all deserve to love who we want without fear.” 

The parade began at Meir Park and continued onto Bugrashov St., Ben Yehuda St., and Ben-Gurion Blvd. The parade ended at Charles Clore Park on the beach.  

Ahead of the Pride parade, Israel's police announced on Wednesday, June 7 that they had completed their preparations for the parade, which includes security assessments and drills to deal with any emergency situation.  
 

Tel Aviv District Commander, Amichai Ashad said before the parade commenced, "Our goal should be very clear to every police officer and every commander - every participant in the parade will return home safely and with a smile. There is a rainbow of challenges here - nationalist, homophobic, criminal, traffic, safety - all of them are laid out before us, before every commander and his police officers. Every police officer, uniformed or plainclothes, must remember that he is the first response to the nationalist threat."
 

An LGBTQ community activist present at the Pride parade said, "Ahead of the pride events in Tel Aviv-Yafo, we remind everyone that the rights of the gay community and equal rights for all are in danger! The dictatorship does not take care of the weak, it oppresses them. We will continue to fight for a liberal and democratic Israel."
 

The LGBTQ community has reported a 400% increase in anti-LGBTQ incidents since Prime Minister Netanyahu was re-elected in December last year. PM Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition government is reported to have committed injustices against Israel’s Arab minority and LGBTQ community.