Likud MK Amir Ohana, a well-known gay rights activist, says he will no longer vote with the coalition until the welfare and justice ministries rescind their recommendation against allowing gay couples to adopt under Israeli law.
In a hearing over a petition to the High Court of Justice on Sunday, attorneys for the state said the government opposes gay adoption, mainly on the grounds that it could cause the children of same-sex families to be ostracized by their social group.
The argument caused widespread anger, including public castigation of the claim by the state attorney’s office, the psychologists’ union and social work professors. On Monday, Welfare Minister Haim Katz himself said he opposed the policy described to the court and asked the High Court to delay the next hearing in order to allow the ministry to reassess its policy.
In a letter to Coalition Chairman MK David Bitan, Ohana wrote that the Sunday hearing was a “watershed moment” for him, and meant that he could not support the ruling coalition of which he was a member until it changed its view on gay adoption.
Likud MK Amir Ohana attends a Knesset debate on December 28, 2016. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
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