Far-right lawmaker Bezalel Smotrich argued Wednesday, without any evidence to support his claim, that Tel Aviv Pride in late June led to a surge in coronavirus infections across Israel, as the government mulls stricter measures to curb the spread of the delta variant.
“There was a massive infection party that started this outbreak,” Smotrich, leader of the opposition Religious Zionism party, told the Knesset. “The Pride march, this unruly behavior in Tel Aviv, started this outbreak.”
LISTEN: How Israel’s Olympic hero challenged a nation’s identity
He claimed “no one has the courage to say it, because it’s not politically correct.”
Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, one of only a handful of openly gay cabinet members in Israel’s history, called the remarks “shameful” and stressed on Twitter that “there is no connection between the delta outbreak and the Pride marches.”
“In case you forgot what the dangerous combination of ignorance, populism, frustration and hatred, Smotrich gave us… another excellent reminder,” Horowitz said. “The man who made a career of homophobia never misses a shot at inciting and spreading hatred.”
Smotrich, a staunch opponent of LGBTQ rights and self-proclaimed “proud homophobe,” also claimed the government is trying to avoid imposing restrictions that would affect Muslim holidays, but isn’t doing the same when it comes to Jewish ones, echoing controversial remarks by members of the opposition to the Bennett-Lapid government, particularly from ultra-Orthodox parties.
“They don’t want to harm Eid al-Adha, so people go to Turkey, a glaring ‘red’ country,” he said. “Thousands fly, return and infect [others]… well, with Jewish holidays it’s not that bad, so we won’t pray at a synagogue… and we won’t celebrate with our family.”
Smotrich isn’t only a homophobe
With COVID figures on the rise, can Israel steer clear of another full lockdown?
El Al to carry out mid-flight COVID test trial on New York-Tel Aviv route
Eid al-Adha was celebrated by Muslims last month, whereas the Jewish holidays Smotrich was referring to will be marked starting in early September.
In a statement issued by his office, Smotrich said on Thursday that his Knesset speech was “important and excellent,” reiterating his claim that mass gatherings, including anti-Netanyahu demonstrations in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Pride, as well as trips to COVID-hit Turkey made another lockdown over the Jewish High Holy Days unavoidable. “I hope everyone sees this and recognize the government’s failures,” he added.
English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish