Israel's New Social Equality Minister Described Gay Pride Parade as 'Disgraceful Vulgarity'
The new Likud Party-led government in Israel, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, includes a new Social Equality Minister, Amichai Chikli, who has described the Tel Aviv Pride Parade as “disgraceful vulgarity,” according to Haaretz.
Chikli’s new titles include Diaspora Affairs Minister and Social Equality Minister. It is his job to work with Jews abroad, the diaspora, many of whom are liberal and non-Orthodox, and to build support for the Likud Party through social issues.
However, Chikli’s repudiation of his past liberal politics may cause problems in dealing with Israel’s LGBTQ community, said Harretz. Chikli entered the Knesset first as a member of the liberal Yamina party in 2021. But he regularly voted against the Yamini-led government and eventually switched to the Likud party.
Speaking of the American Jew Peter Beinart, a left-wing writer and journalism professor, Chikli said, “Think of Peter Beinart, with all the filth and slander he spreads about Israel. In my opinion, some of Reform Judaism – the progressives and organizations like IfNotNow – are alienating themselves from their own people. It used to be difficult to be Jewish, so they made their Judaism easier; today it is difficult to be a Zionist, so they say to themselves: We’ll go to the other side, where it is more convenient.”
According to Haaretz, Chikli wrote a post on Facebook in June 2022 about the LGBTQ community. He said he was glad that public figures “no longer need to be ashamed of their sexual preferences,” but added this “does not mean that it should be a reason for pride.”
He also said that spending an entire month to celebrate sexual orientation seemed excessive, adding that “just as it seems strange to me to associate the straight people in the world as the straight community, it seems strange to me to talk about an LGBTQ community.”
As for the Tel Aviv Pride Parade, Chikli described it as a “disgraceful vulgarity,” reported Harretz. He added that “one of the most beautiful things in my eyes about sexuality is precisely the fact that it is subdued.”
As for sexual education, Chikli wrote, “Tolerance and inclusion do not mean that children in kindergarten and elementary school will be exposed at such an early stage in their lives to every phenomenon that exists on the spectrum, such as drag queens and transgender people.”
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