Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 1, 2023
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 1, 2023
Netanyahu condemns rabbis’ comments against Ohana, LGBTQ people
New Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana oversees the plenum session to vote on the new government's swearing-in, December 29, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)
Prime Minister Netanyahu rejects comments by leading rabbis disparaging LGBTQ people; the openly gay Knesset speaker, Amir Ohana; and ultra-Orthodox lawmakers who voted for him.
“I strongly condemn comments against the LGBT community and Knesset Speaker Ohana,” he says in a brief statement.
“Beloved is man for he was created in the image [of God],” Netanyahu continues, quoting from the Mishna, a foundational rabbinic text.
“Every person is created in the image of God,” he says. “That is the principle that was introduced to humanity by our people thousands of years ago, and that is the principle guiding us today as well.”
