Following the news of 16-year-old Shira Banki's death from the stab wounds she sustained at Thursday's Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade, some 200 people gathered in Tel Aviv's Gan Meir park on Sunday evening in a spontaneous rally to pay their respects. Members of the LGBT community lit candles and sang songs in Banki's memory. "It is sad that an incident like this was not prevented. There were warning signs; they knew the murderer was unstable," Eran Basha Lamvin, who was at the impromptu memorial ceremony, told Israel Hayom. "Since it happened, I am always looking behind me. Even now, when I came to Gan Meir, I feared there might be someone behind me with a knife. It could have been any of us." Ran Kott, who was also at the event, said, "They made us feel we were somehow polluting Jerusalem, as if we are only welcome in Tel Aviv. But the decision-makers sit in Jerusalem, in the Knesset, and that is where change should come from. "I was really moved by the fact that Shira's parents agreed to donate her organs. Their daughter was murdered because of baseless hatred, and they chose to do the opposite, to save the lives of others. They are so strong. I truly felt the pain in my heart when I heard about her passing." A simultaneous rally was held in Jerusalem's Zion Square, where people gathered and lit candles in Banki's memory. The murder was condemned across the political spectrum. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement, saying, "Shira was murdered because she courageously supported the principle according to which everyone is entitled to live their lives in dignity and safety. "We will not allow the abhorrent murderer to undermine the fundamental values upon which Israeli society is based. We strongly condemn the attempt to instill hatred and violence in our midst, and we will deal with the murderer to the fullest extent of the law." Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said, "Shira fell victim to a vile and ruthless murderer. The pain and sorrow of her loss are immense." Education Minister Naftali Benett similarly spoke out. "This is a black day for the State of Israel," he said. "We have become darkness, instead of a light, unto the nations." Bennett added that the Education Ministry will be organizing counseling for the students and teachers at the high school Banki attended, and that ministry officials were meeting with the leaders of LGBT organizations to better understand the needs of LGBT youth in the school system. 'A victim of hate' "The knife that killed Shira Banki is cutting and stabbing Israeli society as a whole, and the wound will be difficult to heal," said Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein. Zionist Union MK Shelly Yachimovich said, "Shira was murdered by a scoundrel while she was taking part in a march for love and equal rights for all people. She was a victim of hate, violence, madness and incitement." Earlier on Sunday, at the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu addressed the Jewish terrorist attack last week that killed Palestinian toddler Ali Dawabsha and left his family members with severe burns, calling it an "abhorrent crime." "I remember as a child, when I would visit on Shabbat the home of my father's great teacher, Professor Joseph Klausner, among the Jewish people's greatest historians in the modern era, over his door were etched two words: 'Judaism' and 'humanity.' These words support each other. This is what distinguishes us from our neighbors," Netanyahu said. "We condemn and denounce these murderers and chase them until the end, while [our neighbors] name town squares after the murderers of children. This difference cannot be blurred or covered up." Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely wrote a letter to Chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat, in which she stressed, "The State of Israel stands united in repudiating this unforgivable crime." Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said, "The terrorist attack in the village of Duma was dreadful. ... It bears no connection to the political Right. "Jewish terrorism is more harmful to the state's security than Arab terrorism. The [Jewish] attacks are few compared to Arab terrorist attacks, but every attack like this does great damage to the security of the country." At the same time, Meretz leader Zehava Galon and other Meretz MKs met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the Muqata compound in Ramallah on Sunday. On Tuesday, the Knesset will hold a meeting at the urging of the Zionist Union and other opposition parties to discuss recent events. Also following the attacks last week, Zionist Union MK Revital Swid put forward a bill to enforce more stringent controls on perpetrators of hate crimes after they have served their sentences. Yishai Schlissel carried out the stabbings at this year's Gay Pride Parade just a few weeks after being released from prison after having served out his sentence for a similar attack in 2005.
