"Break a window, throw less and curse": an alarming wave of violence against the gay community

Following the wave of violence against LGBT people, the National Security Committee in the Knesset held an emergency discussion today (Wednesday) initiated by MK Merav Cohen and the LGBT Association. The Association for the LGBT stated that in the four months since the establishment of the government (January-April), the number of reports of cases of violence and hatred against the LGBT doubled, while last March the increase jumped fourfold compared to the same month last year. In addition, about a third of the reports of LGBTphobia occurred in the public sphere, a threefold increase compared to last year.

Suspected hate crime in Tel Aviv: young people threw stones and cursed at a gay man
A gay couple was attacked in their apartment in Tel Aviv: "Go back to Germany, gays are not tolerated"

Oded Yitzhak Noorani, who was attacked this month along with his partner in his home by a neighbor who threatened to murder them because of their tendency, said: "In our apartment, a neighbor terrorized us for a long time until it reached a boiling point and just one morning the guy smashed our blinds and announced that he wanted to kill us because He hates gays. At this point the guy was arrested and released, after two days he violated the restraining order imposed on him, our attack is defined as a neighbor dispute and not a hate crime. According to the police it was property damage, the officers did not enforce the restraining order at all several times. What should happen that he kills someone? Here In the Knesset, things are said and you travel under the responsibility of the Emirate, here a pedophile, a rapist and even the end of the Jewish people happened to me. On the last day of remembrance, we fled between hiding places because we have no security instead of reuniting with my fallen friends. How you behave here in the Knesset directly affects what happens on the streets." .

Shuval Hachmon, who was attacked in his apartment after masked men threw stones at the window of his house in Tel Aviv, where there was a pride flag, told about the difficult event he experienced: "I saw a group of boys climbing on my balcony and trying to tear the pride flag from the window. They sent a shower of curses at me – Traitor leftist, stinking gay', they threw the drink can at me and ran away. Less than a week passed and the following night, during the demonstrations, I heard shouts from the room from the street: 'You son of a bitch, stinking gay, get off', and immediately after that two chilling booms. I ran To the window, I saw my partner shaking with fear and both of our windows were smashed. They threw two stones in our direction which smashed our windows. We handed over video footage to the police where the rioters can be clearly seen but the police closed the case and left our security in limbo. For the entire time I have lived In Tel Aviv I have never felt such a lack of security in our home. The police's lack of care in the case gives an unofficial approval to harm the LGBT community in a distinct way. The gay community is not abandoned, we are in the army, in the Knesset, in the school, in yeshivots in the hospitals, in Tel Aviv, in Hadera And everywhere. The police's ignoring of the case, the indifference of our Knesset members who promised that the LGBT community would not be harmed during their term of office and put young LGBT people in the closet. No one deserves to live in fear in their own country. I have every hope that we will wake up as a society, that our elected officials will wake up, that our security forces will wake up."

The former minister, Merav Cohen, said: "In recent months we have witnessed a drastic and alarming increase in violence against the LGBT community. Last March there was a 400% increase in cases of violence against LGBT people compared to last year, these are hate crimes for all intents and purposes. It didn't grow out of nowhere. There are statements about the homophobia of elected officials in the background, the very fact that the discrimination law in the services was in the coalition agreements even if it is not passed hurts the community because the message gets through and the damage is enormous. In the month of June, Pride Month will begin throughout the country, where parades will also be held, I am very worried, the police should prepare so that we do not see any more cases like the abominable murder of the late Shira Banki. I am concerned that there are cases that are closed even though the offenses were filmed – this is not the way to create deterrence. It doesn't make sense that the members of the community can't live safely because of their sexual orientation."

The debate in the Knesset (Photo: Courtesy of the Office of the MK Merav Cohen)

The CEO of the Association for the LGBT community Ran Shalhabi said: "We are in an emergency situation – the gay community is not protected and the LGBT phobia that comes from this house is rampant in the streets. Unfortunately, we have already seen several times that hate kills, the late Shira Banki was murdered in the Pride Parade in Jerusalem by an assailant who had stabbed other marchers in the same parade a few years earlier. We are here before the events to raise a red flag and say that the writing is on the wall and special preparation is required for this year's Pride Months And in general, in light of the political climate in Israel."