Thousands of Israeli students protest against homophobic Minister of Education

In Tel Aviv, thousands of students protested against Rafi Peretz, Minister of Education. In a recent interview with an Israeli newspaper, he claimed that his kids cannot be gay because he raised them in a “healthy and normal” way.
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This, and other statements of the minister in which he described homosexual people as ‘not normal’, was the reason for the students to raise their voices. One of the organisers of the protest told television station Channel 13: “Ministers and politicians who are supposed to be leading the country, who are supposed to represent all of the various communities and the different sexual tendencies, they can’t come along and say what is normal, they can’t come and trample entire communities, people with feelings and thoughts.”

Peretz claimed that a ‘normal’ family consists out of one male and one female. He expressed that heterosexual people should not be ashamed of the way they live. “Thank God my kids grew up naturally and healthy. They’re building their families from Jewish values,” he responded to the question what he would do if one of his children was gay.

“We are not against Rafi Peretz, we are not against the ideas of anyone,” the organiser said, but she mainly criticized the way political leaders have expressed themselves. She claimed that if the minister described heterosexuality as ‘normal’, he contradicts what is being taught at school, namely tolerance and being considerate of others.                          

Peretz is known for his homophobic views. He previously said to be a supporter of conversion therapy, which is widely considered as something that causes mental harm.                                                                                                                    

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