A far-right Cabinet minister on Tuesday compared same-sex relations to incest, drawing ire from LGBT groups.
When asked in an interview why he opposed equal rights for married gay couples, Yitzhak Wasserlauf, minister for the development of the periphery, the Negev and the Galilee, responded, "Just like father and daughter or sister and brother cannot marry. Why not? They love each other."
The Otzma Yehudit Party lawmaker later denied making a direct comparison between gay relationships and incest, saying, "I am comparing arguments that claim because a couple is in love, they should enjoy all the rights. Why shouldn't others who are also in love? There is a standard, and I drew the line where others have not."
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Gay Pride parade calling for protection of democracy, in Haifa
(Photo: Haifa People's Protest)
"To you, a brother and sister [in a relationship] is illegitimate, and to me, it is two boys wanting to marry under Jewish law. It is not the religion of Moses and Israel. What can you do?" he added.
Israel's LGBTQ+ Association condemned the remarks, saying, "We would like to laugh at the minister's argument that seems to be plucked out of the 1950s, but, sadly, such ignorant and primitive comments come from a person holding public office who benefits from our taxes. Maybe instead of inciting against our community, the minister should concentrate on his job."