Israeli Education Minister Rafael
Peretz, an Orthodox rabbi, has implied that being gay is unnatural.
The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper
asked Peretz what he would do if one of his children had a “different
sexual orientation.”
“Thank God, my children grew up in a
natural and healthy way,” Peretz answered. “They are building
their homes on the basis of Jewish values. I don't bother my head
with 'what if' thinking.”
According to The
New York Times, Peretz's comments prompted several Israeli
school districts to hold tolerance classes on Sunday.
Haaretz
reported that Justice Minister Amir Ohana, Israel's first openly gay
minister, described Peretz's remarks as “miserable, dark, and
wrong,” adding that they were based not on “knowledge and facts,
but rather on prejudice.”
Last year, LGBT
activists protested Peretz after he said that he supports
therapies that attempt to alter the sexual orientation or gender
identity of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or
transgender.