Their Place To Decide: Idit Klein, right, the executive director of Keshet, married Jordan Namerow under a chuppah at their 2011 wedding. Image by Courtesy of Idit Klein

Israeli Education Minister Shai Piron apologized for saying that same-sex couples are not a family.

Piron was interviewed on Sunday by several Israeli media outlets.

In an interview aired on television stations, he said, “I am painfully convinced that my remarks were miserable. It’s not my place to decide who is a family and who isn’t.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

He added, “What bothers me more than anything is the children and adults who were hurt by what I said, and I am looking them in the eyes and saying I truly apologize.”

Piron, a member of the Yesh Atid party, also defended the remarks. He told Ynet that while he has voted to support every bill that provides more rights for the homosexual community, including the surrogacy law and tax credits for single-sex couples, “I am also an Orthodox rabbi, I will not force religious Jews to recognize same-sex couples as a family.”

On Thursday, in an interview published in the weekly free newspaper B’Sheva, which is geared to the Modern Orthodox population, “I think it is the right of a Jewish state, maybe even its obligation, to tell single-sex couples pursuing that lifestyle, that’s not family.”

Piron went on to say, however, that such couples deserve economic rights, a mortgage and parental rights.

The day after, he wrote on Facebook, “You can disagree with my comments but it reflects the reality of the situation in Israel and the difficulties of the religious community with changes in the family structure. Every day I try to build a bridge between different groups and communities, the first step of the bridge is to accept and understand. I apologize if my words were misunderstood and hurt anybody.”

Same-sex families and their supporters, including educators and school principals, are expected to protest Piron at the Knesset on Monday.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount