ISRAELI religious leaders rarely agree on anything, but one thing has proved strong enough to bring them together: fear of the effects of a ten-day international gay pride festival in Jerusalem this summer.

Senior Christian, Jewish and Muslim figures, representing communities riven by conflict, have put aside their differences to give warning that the WorldPride event, planned for August, will desecrate the sanctity of the Holy City.

One alarmed Muslim cleric suggested that if the event, last staged in Rome five years ago, is allowed to go ahead, it could invite divine retribution such as that visited on Sodom.

“God destroyed the city and we don’t want this to happen to us,” the Muslim Sheikh Bouchari said, flanked by the multifaith clerics who regard Jerusalem as sacred. “God will punish us if we allow this to happen.”

The organisers of the festival, the theme of which is “Love Without Borders”, were disappointed that religious groups had joined forces to try to stop an event that aimed to promote tolerance and pluralism.

“It’s ironic that the first time that these religious leaders come together is to promote their bigotry,” said Hagai El-Ad, executive director of Jerusalem Open House, the gay and lesbian group hosting the event.

For the past three years Jerusalem Open House has staged a gay pride parade in the city that has passed off peacefully, despite fears of trouble from religious Jews. But the scale of Jerusalem WorldPride, with tens of thousands of visitors expected, has raised hackles across the religious spectrum.

A gathering of the patriarchs of the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Churches, Israel’s two chief rabbis and three senior Muslim imams vowed to stop it.

“We are shocked . . . that a world assembly of ten days, including an immodest parade devoid of minimal propriety, is scheduled to be held in Jerusalem this summer, which will offend the very foundations of our religious values and the character of the Holy City,” they said in a joint statement.

They said the festival could create particular problems at a time when police will be on high alert to prevent violence during Israel’s planned withdrawal from Jewish settlements in Gaza and the West Bank.

Jerusalem Open House pointed to the dire warnings before the previous festival, in Rome, which took place without incident despite the objections of the Vatican.

“The presence of the WorldPride gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender celebration will not threaten the sanctity of Jerusalem but will add to the holiness of this great city,” Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, WorldPride’s North American chairwoman, said. “This Holy City belongs to everyone and here, as everywhere, we are all created in the image of God.”

Police and the municipal authority will decide in the next few weeks whether to grant the necessary permits.

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