MK Itzik Shmuli (Labor) responded to the stabbing of an Arab teenager outside an LGBTQ youth hostel in Tel Aviv by taking advantage of the unfortunate incident to place blame on Education Minister Rabbi Rafi Peretz.
A 16-year old Arab teenager was stabbed on Friday afternoon and was rushed to Ichilov hospital in serious condition, where he underwent surgery for stab wounds on his chest and leg and is currently in stable but serious condition. The perpetrator, who managed to flee the scene, was reportedly the victim's brother according to the hostel staff, as reported on Channel 12 News. The hostel staff added that the teenager's family has been placing great pressure on him to become religious.
Despite the fact that the Arab was stabbed by his brother because of his sexual orientation and that Arabs routinely kill their sisters in "honor killings," Shmuli claimed that "an Education Minister who talks about teenagers who need to convert their identity - promotes violence and incitement," on an interview on Kan 11. "It's true that you only need one madman but it's the atmosphere which lays the ground."
"The Education Minister and the rabbis are trying to categorize the world as the better ones and the less good ones. When they try to erase an entire population, it's not legitimate." Shmuli added that he expects Rabbi Peretz to promote one principle of "live and let live." "There is room for both his identity and my identity."
MK Yael German of Blue and White also connected the rabbis' statements to the stabbing of the Arab by his brother. "The shocking incidents of the stabbing of the gay boy by his brother, and the threat to my colleague, MK Eitan Ginzburg, only because of their sexual orientation, reminds us that the hatred towards the gay community and ignorance is still here and everywhere. It's nourished by the hatred of rabbis such as Rabbi Tau and his colleagues who fail to understand the damage their words cause."
Meanwhile, the police are continuing their manhunt for the suspect - the victim's brother, a resident of the Arab city of Tamra.