Yisrael Beytenu MK Anastasia Michaeli charged Channel 10 with broadcasting
programming that encourages children to be homosexuals in a recording first
revealed by Army Radio on Thursday.
Speaking in a closed session of the
Knesset Committee on the Status of Women on Wednesday, Michaeli said,
“Unfortunately, when I turn on Channel 10, I see so-called entertainment shows
showing how nice it is to be gay.”
“We need to find out why Channel 10
has a right to broadcast this content that my children see, and hear that it’s
fun and nice to put on makeup and dress up in skirts,” she
added.
Michaeli also claimed that there was a direct correlation between
sexual abuse and homosexuality.
“I think that most homosexuals are people
that experience very difficult sexual abuse from a very young age. In the end,
they commit suicide when they are 40.”
Yisrael Beytenu distanced itself
from Michaeli’s comments, stating that they were “her own personal opinions and
they don’t represent the opinions of the party.”
Channel 10 responded
that it “supports equal rights for all and showing fair depictions of all groups
in society.”
MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz), the only gay member of Knesset,
released a statement complaining that comments like Michaeli’s are too common in
the parliament and “stain the entire Knesset.” He said the proper way to respond
was to pass legislation that would forbid discrimination against
homosexuals.
The Labor Party’s gay forum accused Michaeli of using her
status as an MK to voice “hateful remarks.” Meretz’s gay forum said Michaeli’s
comments were “strange and disconnected from reality,” and called on her to work
toward equality for Israel’s gay community.
Michaeli made the news in
January when she poured a cup of water on MK Ghaleb Majadle (Labor) during a
heated argument in the Knesset Education Committee. She was suspended from the
Knesset for a month as a result of the incident.
During the two weeks
when it appeared the next election would be moved up, sources close to Yisrael
Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman were quoted as saying Michaeli would not be
given a realistic slot on the party’s next Knesset list.
Gil Hoffman
contributed to this report.