Feiglin backtracks from meeting with gay group

Following 'Post' report that Likud activist would meet with group, Feiglin goes back on decision, says meeting would have given legitimacy he doesn't want to give.

Moshe Feiglin 311  (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Moshe Feiglin 311
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Likud activist Moshe Feiglin is no longer willing to meet with a new homosexual group in the Likud after he received complaints from some of his key supporters in the United States.
The Jerusalem Post reported exclusively on Sunday that Feiglin had told the group’s leader, Dr. Evan Cohen, that he would be happy to meet with them.
But Feiglin said his willingness to meet with the group gave it legitimacy that he did not want to give it.
“When they requested a meeting, I agreed but I told them they wouldn’t like what I have to tell them,” Feiglin said. “My intention was to tell them that as individuals I can’t tell them how to lead their lives and I can cooperate with them on different subjects, but as a group that tries to promote an ideology of their sexual orientation, I don’t think they have legitimacy, especially not in the Likud.”
Feiglin, who wrote an article in the past called “I am a proud homophobe,” said he would still be willing to meet with members of the group individually.
The Post article about Feiglin was picked up by many blogs. On the Kahanist Jewish Task Force website, “Senior JTFer” called Feiglin’s willingness to meet with the gay group “a new low.”
“Rabbi Meir Kahane in contrast to Moshe Feiglin, would never consider giving any type of public legitimacy to the Homos,” he wrote.
Since the gay Likud group was founded four months ago, its leaders have met with 19 out of the 27 Likud MKs and Cohen said all of the meetings were positive.
Cohen, who said Saturday night that Feiglin was “probably a lot more liberal than people would like to believe,” declined to react to his change of heart on Sunday.