There’s an outrage in Israel as the Minister of Education Shai Piron has made some truly repugnant statements about LGBTs. How bad is it, you may ask? Oh, it’s really really bad.
“It is he right of a Jewish state, even the duty, to say that same-sex couples who decide to live their lives — this is not a family,” he said.
In contrast, Minister of Finance Yair Lapid marched in the Pride parade this month and said, “I’m proud to be here today because supporting the gay community, its rights, its equality before the law, that’s part of what defines me as a human being.”
Lapid is Piron’s boss.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Piron also said that it wasn’t appropriate to use the term “couple” to describe gay couples.
We do not know a whole heck of a lot about the state of Israeli education, but this Piron guy does not seem great. Israel is generally otherwise pretty good about equality for LGBTs.
A few years ago, he got in some hot water for saying that homosexuality could be “fixed.” At the time, some gay groups defended him, saying that he no longer believed that and that he’d become a staunch ally.
Apparently not.
Dakotahgeo
Israel… they can’t even keep their country together without the world’s assistance and nuclear missiles. Sooo indpendent and self-righteous!
Cam
@Dakotahgeo:
Yes, you’re right, unlike Palestine or Jordon or even Egypt that has their economy supported by aid from outside countries.
Oh yes, and the difference being that those countries all outlaw being gay and send gays to jail where Israel allows them to seek asylum when fleeing those countries.
Not sure why Queerty continually posts articles about some individual in Israel saying something anti-gay when they recognize foreign gay marriage and gay adoption and yet posts nothing about the surrounding countries where gays are routinely killed with govt. support.
Daniel-Reader
The rightwing rabbis control marriage law for gay and straight couples – so no marriage for gay couples, and straight non-orthodox jewish and non-jewish straight couples have to fly out of the country (to Cyprus usually) to get married then come back into Israel to have it recorded. The religious parties can cancel any legislation they do not like before it comes to an overall vote. So Israel is eerily similar to crazy-religious-forcing-nations like Iran and Saudi Arabia. It puts religion ahead of human rights to keep a few creepy religious leaders in power. Religious leaders who violate the human rights of millions of people should not be preserved regardless of what country they operate from.
Cam
@Daniel-Reader:
Actually you’re lying. The ultra Orthodox now have to serve in the military, cannot get govt. subsidies for studying, and gay rights are enshrined through the courts.
The part I don’t get is this desperation to lie about the realities there. Right across it’s boarders are countries where the murder of gays is supported tacitly by the govt. and at a minimum gays are arrested and tortured.
The fact that gays flee Palestine, Jordan and Egypt for sanctuary in Israel tells us flat out that the countries are not the same. So please don’t give us this B.S. about “Oh gee, I’m just saying that every country needs to be watched.”
I’ll give a crap about the countries around Israel when they stop arresting and killing gays. Until then, they can go fuck themselves, as can Russia, Uganda etc….
Mezaien
@Cam:
You absolutely right! I rather be homosexual, then a Christian. And I leave Israel, alone they are the only one can deal with fucked up Christianity, and Muslim.
Daniel-Reader
Actually Cam, you’re lying. Courts are actually limited in what they can do in Israel. A state based on religion over human rights is a state based on religion over human rights.
SFHandyman
Forgive me for being shallow, but Yair Lapid is gorgeous. Google him. Glad he is on the correct side.
Cam
@Daniel-Reader:
And again, you are a liar. The courts are the authority. Here is a recent example. “In 2012, an Israeli lesbian couple living in London won a case in an Israeli court preventing religious people offering non-religious services from discriminating on ground of sexuality. Tal Ya’akovovich and Yael Biran were awarded NIS 60,000 (£9,500) against the Moshav Yad Hashmona events hall; their reservation at that hall had been cancelled when the owners realised the event was for a lesbian couple. The Jerusalem magistrates’ court judge said that even though the function hall was run by religious people, the services themselves (i.e the hiring of an event hall and the use of their catering service) were not in themselves religious services,[27] and so were not legally exempt. It was also held that sexual assault is not just sexual exploitation, but includes discrimination and humiliation on grounds of sexuality”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Israel
As you can see, the court said that the religious owners had to provide the service to the lesbian couple in spite of their beliefs.
Now the question becomes. What is your agenda? Why are you lying about the situation there?
Dr. Mo
@Cam: Pretty much =)
FStratford
Just goes to show that religious lunatics, Jews included, are the enemy of human rights everywhere.
If this goes on, we should consider abandoning those $$$$ we send to Israel. They can stop being our vassal nation, and we don’t get to be hated by Arabs by proxy.
Dr. Mo
@FStratford: Don’t confuse the lunatic ramblings of a Minister in government for the policies of that government or the law of the land.
Other Ministers in that same government marched on the Pride parade earlier this month. Israel is a parliamentary democracy, governments are formed by coalition. Sadly this ruling coalition includes some of the nuttier, more extreme parties in Israel. But this is not a reflection of the attitudes of the majority of the population.
Mezaien
@Dakotahgeo: The Israeli, economy is a lot better then the USA, for ONE, more brain TWO no Christian! who could ask for more.
Charles The Great
@Daniel-Reader: Israel leave marriage up to religion’s and not ” rightwing rabbis” as you seem to think. Yes Civil Marriages are recognized by the state and even LGBT’s ones that are done outside Israel. It amazes me how the QuAIA spins this all the time. In Canada, I could name people in Steven Harper’s government who not just out right opposes something like this, but if they had their way, they would outlaw the whole concept of LGBT’s being legal in Canada. I could name some US states that still enforce Sodomy laws and many parts of them being on the books and still enforce.
Charles The Great
@Cam: The QuAIA can’t stand the truth, they just like spinning it for their worldview, remember! Islam is very LGBT friendly in their world