Likud MK Nissim Vaturi caused outrage when he suggested Israeli parents are influencing their children to be homosexual when asked about his thoughts ahead of the Jerusalem pride march in an interview with the Knesset Channel on Wednesday.
"If you are saying that there is a pro-LGBT curriculum, there are parents who encourage children to be gay, they give their child a doll because they think the child needs to be homosexual now, but this is not right. Nobody should influence people, neither Avi Maoz nor secular people," Vaturi said.
"There's no need to advertise things, there's no need to advertise being LGBT. The child should choose what to be, religious, secular or gay. People need to choose their path for themselves," the MK added.
וואו לא יודע מאיפה להתחיל להסביר לחלאה הלהטבופובית ואטורי. גדלתי בסביבה שלא הכרתי הומו אחד, לא שיחקתי עם בובות ועדיין אני ממש הומו. אף אחד לא הופך אף אחד להומו או טרנס. מה כן, גדלתי עם פחד מטורף שיגלו שאני הומו◀️ pic.twitter.com/yH04XFufJR
— Roee Neuman️⚧️️ (@NeumanRoee) May 31, 2023
Roee Neuman, one of the leaders of the protest against the government's plans for judicial reform, strongly attacked Vatori in response and wrote on his Twitter account: "Wow, I don't know where to begin to explain this to the LGBT-phobic scum Vaturi. I grew up in an environment where I didn't know one gay person, I didn't play with dolls and I am still very gay.
"Nobody is making anybody gay or trans. Instead, I grew up with an insane fear that people would find out that I am gay."