Jerusalem officials will ban the annual gay pride parade claiming the march would offend many of the holy city's residents

Gavin Rabinowitz:

Organizers of the parade appealed to Israel's Supreme Court to repeal the ruling, saying the decision was a violation of the homosexual community's freedom of expression.

The city council, including the mayor, decided "it is not right to allow the march or other planned activities to take place in the streets of Jerusalem, fearing that it will create an uproar, offend a wide sector of city residents and out of fear of public disturbances," Eitan Meir, director general of City Hall, said in a letter to organizers.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter from city officials.

A majority of Jerusalem's more than 600,000 residents are either Orthodox Jews or Muslim or Christian Palestinians _ conservative communities that oppose homosexuality.

Jerusalem bans gay pride parade

Jerusalem gay pride march banned as religions show rare unity

Jerusalem bans gay pride parade