Haredim Seek to Censor Rainbow from Noah Story; ‘Gay Symbol’

“We know how dangerous images can be, and we’re not going to allow the Gay Agenda to dictate people’s understanding of Holy Writ.”

Bnei Brak, June 1 – In anticipation of the annual Tel Aviv Gay Pride parade, a coalition of community leaders called the Personal Responsibility Union for Decent Ethics (PRUDE) is lobbying the Chief Rabbinate and the Ministry of Religious Services  to purge the mention of the rainbow following the Deluge in the book of Genesis, out of concern that the image may be taken as an endorsement of homosexuality.

In the Biblical account, God wipes out most of humanity and land life when society becomes mired in immorality. He then enters into a covenant with the Earth not to bring another such deluge, and uses a rainbow to symbolize that commitment.

Ironically, the verses leading up to the divine decision to destroy all of humanity except Noah and his family stems from a series of crimes that include wanton sexual immorality, in addition to perversions of justice and pervasive violations of property.

Although the rainbow only came to symbolize the Gay Rights movement over the last several decades, PRUDE is taking no chances. “We know how dangerous images can be, and we’re not going to allow the Gay Agenda to dictate people’s understanding of Holy Writ,” said Rabbi Menachem Fakhnyukt, dean of  of Yeshivas HaMakhmirim. “When all is said and done, and we have wiped the scourge of homosexuality from the Earth, we can go back to seeing the rainbow as it was supposed to be. In the meantime, we’re just going to keep it covered up,” just like allegations of children molested by spiritual leaders, he added.

The effort has won support from like-minded individuals and organization throughout the country, and RePress Publications is preparing a special edition that replaces the rainbow with a metaphor less confusing to modern sensibilities: an Amana deep-freeze unit, an image that succinctly conveys the need to keep things the way they have been – or used to be.

Last year PRUDE attempted to generate support for removing all references to unsavory behavior or ideas from the sacred texts. The effort generated initial excitement, but was eventually abandoned when organizers realized not only how much work that would involve, but that at least one Christian group had already gone through such a process, reducing the Old and New Testaments together to a single twelve-page volume. Those two points all but forced the organizers to cancel, as they did not want to be seen as imitating idolaters.