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Israël: Netanyahu’s Far-right Allies: Doctors Could Refuse Treatment on Religious Grounds, Hotels Can Refuse LGBT Guests
Sunday 25 December 2022, by
Netanyahu’s Far-right Allies: Doctors Could Refuse Treatment on Religious Grounds, Hotels Can Refuse LGBT Guests
Haaretz
Dec 25, 2022 12:58 pm IST
Religious Zionism party lawmaker Orit Strock said on Sunday that a doctor shouldn’t be forced to provide treatment that contradicts his religious beliefs, “as long as there are other doctors who can provide the same service.”
Speaking to Israeli public radio Kan, she added that she “cannot fathom the thought that the Halakhic law will be seen as a discrimination on religious grounds in the Jewish state we established after two thousand years of exile and self-sacrifice.”
In the coalition agreement reached last week between the Likud and United Torah Judaism parties, it was determined that private businesses could refuse to provide a service due to the seller’s religious beliefs, as long as an alternative can be acquired in geographical proximity at a similar price.
Simcha Rothman, another member of the Religious Zionism party, also supported the right to refuse service on religious grounds. When asked by a Kan radio anchor if a religious hotel owner could refuse to host a group of homosexuals, he responded: “If it goes against your beliefs, and it hurts your religious sentiments and it’s your private hotel, then the answer is yes, that’s the law.”
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Outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid responded to these statements, blasting his successor Benjamin Netanyahu for “leading us towards a dark, halakhic country.” Netanyahu, however, himself distanced himself from Strock and Rothman’s positions, vowing that the Likud party “will ensure there will be no infringement of LGBT rights or the rights of any Israeli citizen.”
