Israeli News Site Publishes and Removes Column Calling For Killing Gays

Israel National News, a right-wing Israeli publication, has apologized after publishing a column that called for attacks on gay people, feminists, and the far-left. The column compared these groups to Amalekites, the group that first attacked the Jews in the Old Testament. According to The Times of Israel, the column was originally published in Hebrew and was removed after an LGBTQ activist filed a complaint to the police. The Times of Israel also translated sections of his column into English.

“Since the Holocaust, many Jews say ‘Never again.’ To never allow the violence and hatred of the Holocaust to repeat itself,” Moshe Hasdai wrote in his column. “In order to ensure this, we are obligated to strike our enemies who incite and murder us.”

“The LGBT force, and the extremist secular left, which includes radical feminism penetrating the army and positions of power, play into the hands of the Arab enemy, which sees it as an opportunity to weaken the military and Jewish nationalism,” Hasdai wrote.

Israel National News is a big right-wing advocate for Zionism and the settlement of the West Bank. In fact, the site is owned by a religious institution based in the West Bank. The site also showed strong support for the new nation-state law in Israel as well as for Trump.

Although Israel National News is claiming the post was accidentally published to the site, it is very coincidental that it was published right before Jerusalem’s big Pride parade. “Israel National News condemns any incitement to violence and insists on open, decent discussions. We hope that all media outlets will begin to apply similar standards, even with regard to incitement against other groups in Israeli society.”

The Jerusalem pride event has always brought up a lot of reactions between the LGBT and religious communities. In addition to this column, Jerusalem’s Chief Rabbi called for the removal of gay flags. The community is also still feeling the repercussions of stabbings that happened at Jerusalem Pride in 2015. An assailant stabbed six people at the parade, including one 15-year-old girl who ended up dying as a result.

On a more positive note, in Lod, Israel, they held their first Pride event. Lod is a mixed-city and this event included a mix of both Jews and Arabs, and is the first of its kind in that regard. According to +972 Mag, it was the first time an Arab MK (the Israeli equivalent of a senator) spoke at a Pride event.

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