IDF soldier: Gay people deserve a bullet in the head
Soldiers on base in Haifa made homophobic remarks towards another LGBTQ soldier. "The IDF leads a zero tolerance policy towards offenses that harm the value of human dignity," the military responded.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFAn IDF soldier sits on a beach in Tel Aviv(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
An LGBTQIDF soldier who was serving at the Israeli Air Force base in Haifa was subject to offensive homophobic language from the other soldiers serving with him. Yair (pseudonym), another LGBTQ soldier who did not tell the others of his sexual preferences, decided to tell his commanders about the offensive language the soldiers used, according to Mako."They came into his room and recited Leviticus 18:22 on 'sexual relations with a man' to him, telling him 'see? it's forbidden,'" Yair told Mako Pride in recounted the events. "One of the soldiers even said that gay people deserve a bullet in the head."Yair also claimed that the general discourse was homophobic as well when soldiers claimed that, "we shouldn't have them, they're perverts." Yair also told of a time when the soldiers discussed what they would do should their children come out of the closet: "One of them claimed he would throw them out of the house, while another jokingly said they would kill them. He said it jokingly but it was not funny at all. A third soldier even said he would cut their genitals off."Deciding to take action, Yair approached the commanders and revealed to them that he was gay, as well as telling them of the discourse around the other soldiers. "I even heard once in the mess hall a soldier claiming that he is 'a proud homophobe,' and another who said that trans people are the worst in the community," Yair revealed.The commanders in turn investigated Yair's claims and began conducting lessons on loving the other. "The commander yelled at everyone that the next one who acts in the same way would find himself under arrest," Yair said.The IDF Spokesperson's Unit responded to the event, claiming that, "the IDF ensures a respectful environment to all soldiers and commanders alike. From the moment of complaint, the commanders conducted a thorough investigation of the events – and at the end of it, one soldier was tried and punished for harming the value of human dignity. The IDF leads a zero tolerance policy toward such offenses and conducts teachings and workshops on the subject."Yair added that, "It is sad to think that if I was not there, nobody would pass this on. They did not harm me because they did not know I'm gay, but I want everyone to know that there is still homophobia around."
