Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Deputy FM says Avi Maoz’s anti-LGBT sentiment has only boosted support for community

21 December 2022, 3:44 pm 0 Edit

Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll speaks at an event marking pride month at the ministry in Jerusalem on June 30, 2021. (Foreign Ministry)

Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll says that the anti-LGBT sentiments espoused by Noam party chief MK Avi Maoz have only boosted support for Israel’s LGBT community.

“I want to thank MK Avi Maoz, because due to him and his efforts, the Open House in Jerusalem has already raised NIS 100,000 ($29,000) toward the Jerusalem Pride Parade,” says Roll, one of a handful of openly gay lawmakers, in a video posted to social media.

Thanks to Maoz, adds Roll, “more people know that there is a large, strong [LGBT] community and they’re not alone and have nothing to be afraid of.”

Roll, a member of Yesh Atid, also issues an invitation to Maoz to attend next year’s Jerusalem Pride Parade — an event the far-right lawmaker has long sought to have shut down.