LGBT members of Israel's Democrats Party are challenging the party on its commitment to promoting its policy towards the Arab sector as well.
Omer Nachmani, who was Yair Golan's spokesperson, reported that he was approached by numerous members of the LGBT community who are concerned by the fact that a leading candidate in the Democrats with a realistic chance for election has, for the past week, refused to be photographed with a rainbow flag.
"If this candidate were a religious Jew, and not a Muslim, she would have been kicked out of the party," Nachmani wrote in a post on Facebook. He added, "I will not agree to any compromise on my human and civil rights, the same way I would not agree to any compromise on the human and civil rights of the Arab sector. The Democrats is my home, and in my home there will be no homophobia, not even implicitly.
To illustrate his position on the issue, Nahmani attached a graphic image of Soumya Bashir, a Muslim activist running for the Democrats ticket, wearing a rainbow hijab.
During Pride Month, Yair Golan, leader of The Democrats, published several Hebrew-language videos highlighting the party’s support for LGBTQ rights and the LGBTQ community. However, the same videos were not published on the party’s Arabic-language Facebook page.