JERUSALEM (AP) — Designated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare rebuke of his new coalition allies on Sunday for saying they would advance laws allowing discrimination against LGBTQ people, pledging there would be no harm to their rights by his upcoming government.
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Netanyahu is set to form the most ultranationalist and religious government in Israel’s history between his Likud movement and several openly anti-LGBTQ parties. This has raised fears among Israel’s LGBTQ community that the new government, expected to take office in the coming week, will roll back gains made for LGBTQ rights in Israel in recent years.
Orit Struck, a Religious Zionist member of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, said her party seeks a change to the country’s anti-discrimination law that would include permitting people to avoid acts that go against their religious beliefs — including discriminating against LGBTQ people in hospitals.
Struck said in an interview on Sunday with Kan public radio that “so long as there are enough other doctors to provide care,” religious healthcare providers should be able refuse to treat LGBTQ patients.
Simcha Rotman, another member of the party, said that private business owners, such as hotel operators, should be allowed to refuse service to LGBTQ “if it harms their religious feelings.”
Netanyahu said that Struck’s remarks “are unacceptable to me and to members of Likud,” and that the coalition agreement “does not allow discrimination against LGBTQ or harming their right to receive services like all other Israeli citizens.”
The outgoing government took several small steps to advance LGBTQ rights, including rescinding a ban on blood donations by gay men, streamlining access to gender reassignment surgery and taking a clear stand against “conversion therapy,” the scientifically discredited practice of using therapy to “convert” LGBTQ people to heterosexuality or traditional gender expectations.
The incoming government includes two ultra-Orthodox parties that bar women from participating, and Religious Zionism, an umbrella movement whose leaders are vocally homophobic.
Members of the LGBTQ community serve openly in Israel’s military and parliament, and many popular artists and entertainers as well as several former government ministers are openly gay. But leaders of the LGBTQ community say Israel has a long way to go to promote equality.
Netanyahu and his religious and nationalist parties captured a majority of seats in the Knesset in Nov. 1 elections. Last week, he said he had successfully formed a new coalition. The government, however, has not yet been sworn into office, and Netanyahu and his partners are still finalizing their power-sharing agreements.
Netanyahu served for 12 years as Israel’s prime minister before he was ousted from power last year.
Is Israel is truly a “Jewish” State, they should be Jewish and follow what it says in the Torah Hakdosha.
Toeiva is an abomination that brings destruction
There is NO reason for anyone to announce their sexual experiences; I don’t want to hear of adulterers, which is a heterosexual misbehavior. It is defiance of Torah norms that have no place in the public square. For your information, I was a male captive in a female body….but then B’H my mother gave birth to me!
The alphabet wackos want it both ways but your rights to be an alphabet wacko does NOT supersede my rights to how I feel.
Tons of disinformation in this AP article. In today’s left wing world view, conversion therapy includes more than just an old electronic shock method that literally no one uses any more. It includes all forms of therapy intended to help someone deal with SSA. If a mashgiach counsels a talmid and learns mussar with him with the goal of helping the talmid remain ehrlich, the mashgiach can be arrested in many western countries. Also, why should a frum doctor be forced to perform genital mutilation surgery? AP can toss all of the woke terminology into its articles and unfortunately many fall for it. But VIN should know better. For the record, your articles under the VIN byline are awesome. The AP articles? Awful.
Nonetheless, blood donations from this faction of society should be labelled as such, as should blood donations of those vaccinated with experimental mRNA ‘clot shots’.
The Satmer Rebbe was right – the Zionist will become a homophobic and totalitarian government, and no one will be able to live there
And this is who they sang Binyamin hatzadik on……
Not letting them use a hotel together is one thing, but withholding medical treatment is ugly and cruel and not necessary halachically.
There were NO anti anyhing comments by ANY “far-right ally”. There was a libertarian demand: that people not be forced to act against their beliefs. The Headline is an example of demagoguery.
it is an imagined so called community
This is Netanyahu being his customary self. When he runs, he promises to govern as a decent man. Once he gets the office, he retreats into being a centrist. Works every time.
Bigotry is not Torahdik. The rest is commentary.
A courageous man!
We must stand strong and allow anyone providing a service thats realted to the act of being gay a right to deny them that. This is alef bies and charedim must fight Bibi. Of course if its say regular cancer treatment that we need storng laws saying you won’t turn someone down if say they have stomach cancer just bec they are gay. But if its treatment related tot heir gay behavior then we need strong rights to say no. And we need to say no to renting hotel rooms to gay coupls who will perform averios in that room