The chairman of the United Torah Judaism party, MK Yitzhak Pindrus, responded to opposition leader Yair Lapid, who attacked his comments after he claimed that the LGBT community is more dangerous to the country than Hamas and Hezbollah.
“I was happy to see the important Torah discussion that arose following the publication of a promo from the interview, on the subject of God’s warning in the Torah regarding our right to the land ‘and the land shall not vomit you out.’ I want to congratulate the leader of the opposition who chose to participate in the debate and wore a kippah (the skullcap traditionally worn by Jewish men) on his head to pay respect to the Torah.”
Pindrus said that with the publication of the interview in the evening, things will become clearer: “I would be very happy to continue the important discussion on this issue after the publication of the interview in which my words will be presented in full. I would also be happy to be Lapid”s study partner to learn about the issues he raised in his speech, since it is obvious that he is interested in enriching his knowledge of Judaism.”
“In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that my words were said in reference to a movement that aggressively encourages a phenomenon that the Torah strictly prohibited and promotes it publicly as a movement, and not against any individual person,” Pindrus clarified.
The remarks behind the controversy came during an interview with Channel 12 News, in which Pindrus said, “In my view, the most dangerous thing for the State of Israel, more than ISIS, Hezbollah and Hamas – is the LGBT movement, because that is what is written in the Torah. It is more dangerous than weapons. This is the most dangerous thing that the State of Israel has to deal with, because the Torah says about it: ‘the land will vomit you out” and ‘they will expel you from here’. In my view, I have to prevent not only the pride parade, but the entire movement.”
Lapid responded to him in the Knesset plenum. Placing a kippah on his head, he quoted verses from the Torah and said: “There are many more people in this country who speak badly to their parents than LGBT people. Why are you so busy specifically with LGBT people?”.
The Likud party later released a statement denouncing Pindrus”s statement as unacceptable, and emphasizing the party”s commitment to equal rights for the LGBT community.
