Haredi parties Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and were noticeably absent from the Knesset plenum on Monday as openly gay MK Amir Ohana (Likud) was sworn in.
According to a UTJ source, the Ashkenazi haredi faction fears Ohana will promote reforms favorable to the LGBT community instead of maintaining the status quo.
The decision to boycott Ohana’s swearing-in was made at an earlier UTJ faction meeting, and similar measures against the Likud’s newest MK are also expected.
“The opposition is not personal,” the UTJ source told Channel 2. “But he is a Knesset member from the coalition and we are very afraid he will work to promote initiatives relating to the gay community which United Torah Judaism is opposed to.”
Shas, however, claimed it wasn’t aware when the swearing-in ceremony was being held Monday and that its absence was neither deliberate nor premeditated.
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