After the cease-fire agreement was reached in August, it took only a few days for the Jerusalem Open House to reschedule a gay pride parade in town, after the WorldPride march was put off indefinitely because of the war. It took an even shorter amount of time for the usual opponents of the Israeli lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community to launch their missiles. Indeed, ultra-Orthodox Shas was quick to comment, saying the party regards "with severity those who do not allow the country to recover after the war."

This brought about the usual responses; this time, sharp protests from MKs and activists in Meretz, the gay-friendly party. But these conflicting opinions are old news in Israel. What is new is the common ground shared by the Jerusalem Open House and Shas. Apparently both parties seem to think the war should set aside ongoing issues, including confrontations about gay legitimacy.

Of course, this ad hoc agreement should come as no surprise. War is grave enough an affair to make all other matters redundant. Nevertheless, this is not the first time WorldPride was pushed aside by a large-scale event. During the pullout from Gaza, the Open House chose not to hold WorldPride on its original date while residents were being evacuated from their homes. Now the cannons are silent again: Has the time arrived to embark anew on the gay rights campaign? Or perhaps, as the Shas spokesman implicitly suggested, the fight should only resume when the aftermath of the war comes to an end.

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