Since Arutz Sheva published on Tuesday the decision by the Be'er Sheva Magistrates Court to fine the Tizvei Hakeshet printing house for refusing to print LGBT content, the public has come out in support of the printing house.
Rabbi Aviad Gadot, who runs "Torat Halechima" has announced that as part of a private initiative, he has collected over 15,000 NIS ($4,200).
"The public is waking up and understands that the LGBT organizations are using judicial activism and a warped interpretation of Israeli law in order to force secularization of public spaces and even of completely privately-owned businesses. This is an infuriating situation," he said.
"We are in touch with the owner of the printing house, who is an amazing and inspiring Jew, as well as with his attorney and the Honenu organization, which is providing him with legal aid. The public has joined the effort specifically now, in these difficult days, and is helping the owner of a private business who became the victim of foreign winds of coercion, and who decided to sanctify the name of Heaven. An appeal is also in the works, and we also plan to cover the legal fees which have already been set.
"People realize that if this isn't stopped now, the coercion will choke us all."
Gadot added: "I thank Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Yamina) together with MK Ofir Sofer (Yamina) for their very clear stance, and wonder at the rest of the Yamina ministers, and our friends in the UTJ, Shas, and Likud parties, for [remaining silent]. This is an issue which must be raised in the government and [which should be addressed with] legislation. We are discussing governance, and in the meantime family values are being grossly trampled by radical judges who rule this country."
Over the past three years, the Torat Halechima organization has worked to strengthen Judaism in the public arenas in the IDF, while fighting the New Israel Fund and extreme leftist organizations.
On Tuesday, the Noam party, which based a large part of its political platform on the upholding of traditional family values, urged the public to place large orders with Tzivei Hakeshet, which has been ordered to pay 50,000 shekels ($14,114) to the plaintiffs, students from Ben Gurion University, for refusing to print a "pride" poster.
In a statement, Noam said: "The ruling of the Be'er Sheva judge is a result of post-modern culture that indulges in sordid brainwashing and attempts to determine for the Israeli public what to think and what to believe. We strongly condemn this new attitude, according to which there are no longer men or women, fathers or mothers, and we promise to continue in this struggle."
"We call upon all Israeli citizens to place large orders with the printing house so that it will earn many times more than the bizarre fine that it has been ordered to pay."