Larry King has a well-earned reputation for launching soft balls to his interview subjects, but not so when it comes to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was in town addressing the United Nations.

While some mainstream media types avoid getting into gay speak, King grilled Ahmadinejad about his country's homophobic human rights record.

[Gay action starts at about the 1:43 mark.]

CONTINUED »

Russian-Israeli businessman Arcadi Gaydamak doesn't mince words when it comes to the gays.

Gaydamak, who hopes to be Jerusalem's next mayor, said Monday that he'd rather die than allow another gay pride in the holy city:

When I'm elected mayor, I would die before allowing the pride parade to be held in Jerusalem. They want to be proud? They're allowed to. They want to demonstrate? Fine. But the streets of Jerusalem are a symbol, and parading on them would be an aggressive act against our tradition, against our values and against our morale. I would lie on the ground in order to block the march and would even die before I approve the pride parade in the city.

Gaydamak also criticized current Jerusalem mayor Uri Lupolianski for allowing pride in exchange for "political gain."

Yesterday we passed on Eric Hyett's take on the gay dad "kidnap" tale. You know, the story about how he took his son Jedediah to Israel without consulting estranged husband Joshua Glazer.

Well, now Glazer's lawyers are offering their own take on the matter, especially Hyett's claims that Glazer lied to an Israeli court.

Though he won't offer any new comments, Glazer representative Sam Ferrara had this to say:

Other than to confirm that the version of events presented to you by Mr Hyett is factually inaccurate and can be best borne out by the court documents, as well as assure you that the Israeli court did NOT make any determination based upon unsubstantiated allegations, we cannot comment further pending the upcoming hearings.

It is our sincere belief that our confidence in both the Israeli and New York/Federal authorities will bring about the correct result, as they have thus far.

I remind you that Mr Hyett fled United States jurisdiction without consent and in violation of court directives. He did so with advance planning and quite surreptitiously. These facts will be substantiated by the appropriate authorities in short order.

Hyett and Glazer face off in Israel tomorrow.

Eric Hyett's looking to clear his name.

The 37-year old made news earlier this month when he escorted his son Jedidiah to Israel. This sounds innocuous enough, but not when you ask Hyett's estranged husband, Joshua Glazer. Glazer claims Hyett "kidnapped" their son, over whom they have joint custody.

Infuriated by the reports, Boston-born Hyett, seen in the foreground above, sent an email out last week explaining his side of the story. He did not "abscond" with his son, he says. Rather, the trip to Israel's for the best of Jedidiah's "human rights," which Glazer violated by failing to adhere to court ordered custodial agreements. And, as the basis of his argument, Glazer's using the 1996 Hague Convention.

CONTINUED »

An Israeli professor may be learning a judicial lesson.

Hillel Weiss, who helped found his nation's religious peace movement, has been indicted on two charges of inciting violence and intimidation after two very crude outbursts, including one about the abominable gays:

Two weeks before the 2005 Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem, Weiss said in an interview that "this abomination should be expelled from the Holy City by any means necessary."

Violent protests then erupted at the site the parade, during which one marcher was stabbed.

In another incident, Weiss was last year filmed verbally abusing Israel Defense Forces Hebron Division commander Colonel Yehuda Fuchs during the forced evacuation of settlers in the local market.

Weiss was filmed telling him: "We will bring you to justice just like in Nuremberg. We will kill you and hang you from a high tree for everyone to see. I hope your mother will be bereaved, your wife a widow and your children orphans."

CONTINUED »

Gay pride went off without a hitch today in Jerusalem, where an estimated 3,000 people came out to celebrate same-sex loving. But, being a holy city and all, there were also a fair amount of protesters on the streets:

At a counter-protest in one of Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods several hundred men gathered wearing ash on their foreheads and burlap sacks over their black suits in a Biblical ritual of repentance.

Some demonstrators held holy books, rocked back and forth and prayed, while others raised banners in English reading "Shame," "The Supreme Court is destroying the Holy City" and "Don't sodomise Jerusalem."

In addition to gay rights activists and their opponents, secular politico Haim Oron joined in on the fun, saying, "I came to support the demonstrators and to associate myself with their aims — their struggle is not just about the gay community, it's about having a pluralist society in Israel."

It's been quite a queer week for Israel.

Things were looking bright on Wednesday, when Tel Aviv opened its first gay community center. Unfortunately, the situation turned a bit dark yesterday after MK's in Jerusalem announced plans to ban the city's pride march. Well, now we turn our attention back to Tel Aviv, where gay pride marchers and right wing zealots had a small tussle:

The [right wing] demonstrators held signs which read: 'Animals! You have nothing to be proud of, take your medication.'

Meanwhile, [liberal party] Meretz faction chairperson Zahava Gal-On, who attended the march, slammed Shas and its chairman Eli Yishai, who on Thursday attempted to prevent the parade from going ahead by filing a compliant to police.

"Yishai cannot profit politically at the expense of the participants in the Gay Pride parade," said Gal-On, adding that Shas was "trying take us back to the Middle Ages."

No one was hurt, nor did police intervene. Apparently the rivals simply called it quits.