Whatever your own perspective on LGBT issues, one thing is indisputable: Israel is one of the world’s most friendly states to individuals in the LGBT community.
Which makes it all the more puzzling that a recent New York Times article singles out Israel as the lone example of a state in which a leading politician has expressed support for conversion therapy.
Written by Christina Morales, the article, entitled “Hundreds of Religious Leaders Call for End to L.G.B.T.Q. Conversion Therapy”, bizarrely refers to a statement made by Israel’s former education minister Rafi Peretz in 2019 in the middle of an article on conversion therapy, as an example of officials who have supported the treatment.
For an American newspaper to cite one, and only one, politician from around the world as an example of the challenges facing the LGBT community is an egregious and clear example of bias.
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The Times could have mentioned that Tulsi Gabbard, a Democratic representative, once touted her working for anti-gay group that backed conversion therapy. As an American citizen and politician, Tulsi is surely of far more interest and relevance to American audiences than an Israeli politician. And a statement appearing on an archived website that was part of Mike Pence’s 2000 congressional campaign has been widely interpreted as signaling his support for conversion therapy, although Mr. Pence’s spokesman has denied he supports the practice. Surely Pence too is a more worthy of a mention in such an article.
And if the Times wanted to provide examples of politicians from around the world who have supported gay conversion therapy, it could have mentioned British MEP Ann Widdecombe, for comments in 2019 suggesting science could “produce an answer” to being gay. Widdecombe’s comments were made a month before Israeli minister Rafi Peretz. Widdecombe was in turn defended by Brexit party leader Nigel Farage.
Nevertheless, neither were mentioned in the article. Israeli politician Rafi Peretz alone was deemed worthy of inclusion.
Vociferous Rejection of Peretz’s Remarks Omitted
Entirely missing from the article is the reality that Peretz’s thoughts were met with vociferous pushback from great swathes of the Israeli public and from across the Israeli political divide. Articles published in Israel at the time show that his comments elicited uproar. The Times of Israel‘s Jacob Maggid reported that the comments were “roundly condemned by lawmakers, and he received a swift rebuke from [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu.”
“The remarks by the education minister regarding the gay community are unacceptable to me and do not reflect the position of the government under my leadership,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “I spoke this evening with Rabbi Rafi Peretz, who made it clear that the Israeli education system will continue to accept all of Israel’s children… regardless of their sexual orientation.”
Justice Minister Amir Ohana, Israel’s first openly gay minister, and Meretz chairman Nitzan Horowitz along with Labor’s Itzik Shmuli, all openly homosexual, publicly rebuked Peretz. They were joined by Ehud Barak, who then headed the Israel Democratic Party, and Blue and White chief Benny Gantz, with the former describing Peretz’s comments as “illegitimate.”
Yair Lapid, another leading politician in the Blue and White party at the time, also savaged the comments, tweeting that “until Rafi Peretz undergoes conversion treatment from his dark and insane opinions, he cannot continue serving as education minister.”
Within days, Peretz issued a retraction, saying conversion treatments are “wrong and grave.” In a letter sent by the then-education minister to teachers and principals, Peretz made clear that:
This is my unequivocal position. I understand that this is an invasive treatment that is unsuitable for the human psyche, causes those treated more suffering than relief, and can even put peoples lives in peril and cause suicidal tendencies. I never thought, and certainly did not say, that such therapy should be introduced into the education system.”
The condemnation of the Israeli public and Israeli politicians from the very highest echelons was swift and clear. Peretz’s retraction was similarly speedy and unequivocal. Why did the NYT not consider these details relevant?
Israel’s Sterling Record on LGBT Rights Obscured
In reality, far from being one of the only countries in the world with a lawmaker to express a opinion in favor of conversion therapy, as readers of the Times article may have understood, Israel has for decades proven itself to be sympathetic to the cause of the LGBT community and accorded its members rights in advance of many other democracies around the world.
In 1992, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace, and two years later the Supreme Court granted spousal benefits to same-sex couples. In between, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) implemented anti-discrimination policy in the Israeli army. And with openly gay members of parliament, openly gay judges, a world-famous Gay Pride parade in Tel Aviv attracting crowds of over 100,000 participants from around the world, and Tel Aviv regularly recognized as one of the most LGBT-friendly cities on the planet, Israel’s record is clearly overwhelmingly favorable to the LGBT community.
Regarding conversion therapy specifically, a bill tabled by two left-leaning politicians in July 2020 which would strip psychologists using gay conversion therapy of their medical licenses passed the first round of voting required to enter law. A few months later, a right-leaning Member of Knesset took up the cause – a sign of the support the issue enjoys from across the left/right political divide.
