The LGTBI community is targeted by the Israeli government, but promises to fight

The new Israeli government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu along with ultra-Orthodox and far-right partners, has targeted the LGTBI community, which sees itself as “at the forefront of the battle” against what it describes as a generalized offensive against various minorities.

“My problem is not with specific people, but with the LGTBI ideology and its political movement,” said Avi Maoz, Israel’s deputy cleric minister in charge of education and migration policy, during the swearing-in of the new Israeli government less than a year ago. month ago.

To statements like this, common among the ministers of the new government, there are also actions, such as the inclusion in the coalition agreements of a clause which amend the anti-discrimination law so that merchants or even doctors can refuse to provide services to those who “harm their religious beliefs and feelings”.

Having said that, representatives of the LGTBI community raised a shout to the heavens and anticipated that they will fight to the bitter end to protect the rights they have won and Israel boasted about.

Indeed, Tel Aviv annually hosts the largest Pride Parade in the Middle Eastan event that successive governments have defended as an example of the country’s democratic and liberal values.

“For a long time I rejected them, saying that nothing would happen, that they were unenforceable policies, but now reality shows us something else, we are following patterns like the one in Hungary, and this forces us to step up our fight,” he explained to EFE. Hila Peer, president of AGUDÁ, an organization of the Israeli collective LGTBI.

The figures collected by this organization reflect a 75% increase in homophobic incidents over the past yearwhich, according to Peer, demonstrates that even before the application of concrete policies, “rhetoric is enough to generate a climate of violence in the streets”.

His NGO and many others have urged the population to demonstrate and organized multiple protests, as well as joining the massive anti-government demonstrations which took place in Tel Aviv in recent weeks, in which many posters and banners shouted against the offensive against the LGTBI community.

One of the most active organizations is Havrutá, which represents the religious Jews of this community. This community feels particularly threatened, especially due to its religious, geographical, community and even ideological proximity, with some politicians who are leading the offensive against their rights.

Many of its members regret voting for Netanyahu and his associates prioritizing security or economic issues, while admitting surprise at the government’s assault on them.

“Suddenly the religious authorities feel more empowered to voice their opinions against us,” Shay Bramson, president of Havrutá, whose helpline has been ringing for the past few weeks, told EFE.

conversion therapies

The central concern, he reveals, is conversion therapy, which was banned early last year and which they anticipate may be re-authorized under this government, the most right-wing and religious in Israel’s history.

Bramson says he himself was forced to undergo these therapies during his adolescence, widely spread in religious sectors and at the center of his organization’s activism.

This activism, he points out, does not only take place in the streets but also in the religious media and even in the corridors of Parliament, where they also maintain frequent contact with some parties in the Executive.

“Our fight is not against the government but against specific policies directed towards us and towards other minorities, such as women or the Arab population of Israel, as we believe these are policies that go against the state and against the values ​​of Judaism” , he clarifies. .

The controversial judicial reform

Advocacy for other minorities has led LGTBI organizations to engage in the movement of protest against judicial reform promoted by the new coalition, which would give greater powers to the Government at the expense of Justice, whose independence would be profoundly weakened.

This reform, which could jeopardize Israel’s model of liberal democracy, includes a clause that would allow a simple majority of lawmakers to overrule decisions of the Supreme Court, known for its defense of minority rights.

Peer, from AGUDÁ, is concerned about the impact of this reform on the ground and believes that the LGTBI community represents “the front line of the battle”.

“We are a very strong and organized group, and I think they come first for us because we are the ones who have the most support from society at large. That’s why I think we have to stand firm and work together, because if we fall, the rest of the minorities will fall behind.” of us,” concludes Peer.

Source: EFE

B. C