Israel’s government coalition teeters after gay conversion therapy vote

Image by wikimedia
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Backed by the Blue and White party of Benny Gantz, Israel’s Knesset voted Wednesday to approve a ban on gay conversion therapy, which appears to be part of a crisis in the government coalition.
Later in the day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided not to pass the 2020 budget, as specified in the coalition agreement between his Likud party and Blue and White, in order to bring down the government and move to another vote in November, the Haaretz newspaper reported.
The gay conversion legislation, approved in a preliminary vote of 42-36, would revoke the license of any psychologist who uses the controversial therapy, and would levy fines and jail time. It does not mention rabbis who practice such therapy, which remains legal in Israel and is practiced in segments of the Orthodox community.
Both Blue and White and the Labor Party, who are part of the coalition government, voted with the opposition in favor. The measure, which was proposed by the opposition Meretz party, must pass three readings before being approved.
Likud party lawmakers were officially ordered to vote against the bill, though Public Security Minister Amir Ohana, who is gay, voted in favor. Several Likud lawmakers absented themselves from the plenum during the vote.
The coalition agreement between Blue and White and Likud requires mutual agreement on all votes except West Bank annexation.
“We promised that and we will deliver” on rejecting conversion therapy, Gantz told his lawmakers in a message prior to the vote. “There could be repercussions. Nevertheless, this is a top-priority moral issue and it’s the right thing to do.”
The move by Blue and White angered haredi Orthodox lawmakers, who are part of the government coalition.
The United Torah Judaism party announced hours after the vote that it would propose bills dealing with religion and state that it had previously deferred in order to reach consensus in the coalition.
“Blue and White’s poor conduct, in violation of coalition discipline, is an open affront to our political partnership,” Housing Minister Yaakov Litzman, head of UTJ, said in a statement, Israel’s Channel 12 reported. “Likud must decide whether it knows how to manage a coalition or if it is committing political suicide.”
The post Israel’s government coalition teeters after vote to ban gay conversion therapy appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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.
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.
Most Popular
- 1
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
- 2
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 3
Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
- 4
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
In Case You Missed It
-
News These are the most influential Jews in Trump’s first 100 days
-
Fast Forward Nike apologizes for marathon ad using the Holocaust phrase ‘Never Again’
-
Opinion I wrote the book on Hitler’s first 100 days. Here’s how Trump’s compare
-
Fast Forward Ohio Applebee’s defaced with antisemitic graffiti reading ‘Jews work here’
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.