JERUSALEM, June 26 (UPI) -- Jerusalem's annual gay parade will take place on Thursday as originally scheduled, after a judge overturned a City Council ban on the event.
Judge Mussia Arad ruled the city did not have the right to prohibit the parade, despite council concerns that it would set off unrest, the BBC reported Sunday.
The judge ordered the mayor to pay $6,600 to the city's gay and lesbian center to cover legal costs and underwrite the event. The City Council was ordered to pay an additional $6,600 to the group and to line the parade route with banners representing the group, as it does with other parades and cultural events.
Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders called for a ban on gay festivals in Jerusalem earlier this year, saying that a gay parade through the city would spark violence.
