The "Lanetzach Nisha'eir" association is now offering free couples counseling to LGBT couples - paid for by Israel's Welfare Ministry.
Couples counseling is not available for free, or funded by the government, for heterosexual couples, other than those who have open files with CPS.
An announcement sent to members of Israel's LGBT community read: "LGBT couples face unique challenges and difficulties, stemming from the cultural, social, and legal context in Israel and from life in a reality where there is widespread stigma, discrimination, and ignorance against LGBTs."
"The Clinic for the Gay Family in honor of Amir Fryszer Guttman and in cooperation with the Welfare Ministry, is offering a package of professional, available, and reliable support and advice to arrange life as a couple and a family, on the emotional level, on the relationship or parenting level, and on the legal level. We invite you to couples counseling at no cost, which will be provided for the purpose of providing support and professional and personal accompaniment."
"With the support of the Welfare Ministry, the clinic offers for free, in addition to the couples counseling for LGBT couples: parental counseling, family counseling, counseling for children and adolescents, support in LGBT parental processes, access to legal information, and the provision of legal guidance on a variety of issues pertaining to LGBT life."
Welfare Minister Meir Cohen (Yesh Atid) said: "The Welfare and Social Security Ministry has greatly expanded its services for members of the gay community, in cooperation with the community's organizations, out of a belief that we must adapt Ministry services to meet its unique needs. The Ministry led by me will continue to develop additional services for the community and for all Israeli citizens."
Shai Glick, CEO of Btsalmo, said, "Public funds, as their name implies, belong to the public. If the Welfare Ministry thinks it should fund couples counseling for the entire public - let it fund that. But to give public funds only to a small group is gross discrimination and harms equality. We demand the government ministers, such as the Health Minister and the Welfare Minister and the other ministers, take care of all citizens of Israel, and not just small minority groups."
Michael Puah, chairman of "Choosing Family," said: "After [Health] Minister [Nitzan] Horowitz (Meretz) harmed the blood bank, the basket of subsidized medications, and advisers and therapists, for the sake of advancing the agenda to break apart the family, Welfare Minister Meir Cohen is trying to be even more leftist. Minister Cohen is passing a special budget to encourage men and women who chose to live with those of their own gender to purchase children instead of raising a family - instead of doing his job to ensure the welfare of the entire public. It seems that the ministers in [Prime Minister Naftali] Bennett's government are competing between themselves who will most advance the LGBT cult at the expense of the general population."