Netanyahu is thus being criticized for bringing into government a deputy who described himself as “a proud homophobe”.
Israel’s prime ministerial candidate Benjamin Netanyahu revealed on Wednesday that Likud MP Amir Ohana will be the next Knesset speaker, making him the first openly gay person to hold the position. Netanyahu is thus criticized for including deputies with openly homophobic views into his executive branch.
For example, Ohana will replace Yariv Levin, also a Likud deputy, who was recently appointed to the position on a temporary basis with the aim of passing a series of amendments demanded by Likud coalition partners ahead of the government’s inauguration. , scheduled for this Thursday.
Ohana’s appointment also comes amid growing concerns over homophobic statements by several MPs from the new coalition, which includes several ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties. The coalition includes United Judaism of the Torah and Shas, who left the chamber in 2015 when Ohana, who has a partner and two children, was sworn in as a parliamentarian in 2015. At the moment, these formations have not commented on his appointment to the front. of the Knesset.
Also part of the coalition is Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich, who has expressed views against the LGBTQ community in the past, as has Avi Maoz, leader of the far-right Noam, who has taken a position on Jewish national identity. will lead that will monitor the content taught in schools. Maoz has described himself as “a proud homophobe” and called liberal positions within Judaism “dark”.
Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government will be sworn in on Thursday, laid out a program on Wednesday that emphasizes settlement expansion in the West Bank. “The Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right in all parts of the Land of Israel. The government will promote and develop settlements in all parts of the Land of Israel – in Galilee, in the Negev, in the Golan, in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank),’ Netanyahu’s Likud party, which won the November 1 parliamentary election, said in a statement along with their ultra-Orthodox and far-right allies.
The communiqué also refers to calls from the coalition’s far-right parties to give the security forces more room to maneuver when using force in the occupied West Bank. “The government will make efforts to strengthen security forces and support fighters and police to fight and defeat terrorism,” the document said.
Finally, the Likud mentions religious issues, stating that “the status quo on religion and state will remain as it has been in Israel for decades, even with regard to holy places.”
Source: La Verdad
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