Hundreds of members of the gay community and their supporters held a vigil in the Jerusalem’s main square for a sixteen year old girl who died after
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Hundreds of members of the gay community and their supporters held a vigil in the Jerusalem’s main square for a sixteen year old girl who died after being stabbed at a gay pride march in the city on Thursday.
Shira Banki was one of six people attacked at the parade by an ultra-orthodox Jew.
She “died of her wounds”:
Sad news: 16yo Shira Banki, who was stabbed at Jerusalem Pride, has succumbed to her injuries. http://t.co/N4×0oznq1J pic.twitter.com/Hx1Y3w1q0b
— Attitude (@AttitudeMag) August 2, 2015
on Sunday prompting friends and supporters to gather at her school to pay their respects and renounce violence. “Shira was a brave girl”, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a televised statement. “She was murdered by a vile person because she supported the simple notion that everyone has the right to live their lives respectfully and with security. The despicable murderer who stabbed Shira and five others tried to undermine this fundamental value, the basic values on which our society is built – social equality and individual rights that we sanctify.”
The suspect was arrested at the scene on Thursday and appeared at a remand hearing in Jerusalem on Friday.
Yishai Schlissel, had been released from prison only weeks earlier for stabbing three people at the same event in 2005.
Police have come under criticism for not having him under surveillance.
Meanwhile on the West Bank another vigil was held on Sunday.
Jewish settlers and Palestinians gathered in response to the death of a toddler who burned to death when his Palestinian home was set alight by suspected Jewish extremists.
The victim’s 4-year old brother and his parents were seriously wounded in the attack on Friday.