Knesset Member Avi Maoz wants to put a stop to Jerusalem's pride parade
The head of Noam – the single-member party in the parliament – wants to change the definition of Jewish identity and narrow Israel's pluralistic society
The incoming deputy minister to the prime minister in the anticipated government said he wants to ban the gay pride parade in Jerusalem, calling it an "abomination."
“The Pride Parade in Jerusalem needs to be canceled first of all,” Knesset Member Avi Maoz said in an interview with a newspaper, Olam Katan. “I will make sure to cancel it. It is a disgrace. I am quite straightforward about this.”
Benjamin Netanyahu, the designated prime minister in the next government, has said he will not allow the annual event to be canceled.
The parade has become a flashpoint for violence. In 2015, a 16-year-old girl, Shira Banki, was stabbed to death by a religious Jewish extremist.
The position of deputy minister was created specifically for Maoz, the head of the Noam party which advanced into the Knesset on the "Religious Zionism" slate of three parties.
Maoz is the only member of the Noam party in the Knesset.
In his new role, Maoz will be responsible to define national-Jewish identity and work closely with Nativ, a governmental entity which facilitates aliyah (Jewish immigration) from the former Soviet Union.
Among his other goals, Maoz intends to curtail LGBT rights, supports gender segregation at public events and wants to enforce a strict national observance of Shabbat.
Regarding aliyah, he wants to remove the grandfather clause which has been law since 1970, permitting grandchildren of at least one Jewish grandparent to immigrate, stating that the provision has been wrongly used as a means to grant a home to gentiles.
He wants to sideline Jews who belong to what he calls “radical progressive groups” from joining the military, police and the Ministry of Education, and he wants to shut down a female combat unit in the Israel Defense Forces. Maoz also promises to end the few lines which operate public transportation on the Sabbath.
Maoz threatened to leave the coalition if he cannot make his desired changes which includes changes to the education system and making Israel a much less pluralistic society.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
