Gays Hold First Holocaust Service

Gay men and lesbians Monday held the first service at Israel’s Holocaust Memorial to honor the tens of thousands of homosexuals murdered by the Nazis.

But the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem refused to officially sanction the event, and police detained four religious protesters who shouted “No More Gays,” “AIDS!” and “Homos! May God Save You!”

About 150 gays from 12 countries, mostly Jews from North America and Europe, hugged each other for comfort in the flame-lit Hall of Remembrance, where the names of Nazi death camps are etched into the stone floor.

Some sobbed, others shouted the Kaddish prayer of mourning to drown out the dozen or so protesters, mainly Orthodox Jews, who said the Bible bans homosexuality and the gay service had no place at Yad Vashem.