A complaint of incitement has been filed with the police
against Beit Shemesh mayor Moshe Abutbul, who said on TV on Friday night that
homosexuality was a problem that needed to be dealt with by “the Health
Ministry or the police.”
Abutbul, who was reelected mayor of Beit Shemesh three weeks
ago, also said, “We have none of those things [gays] here. Thank God, this city
is holy and pure.”
The complaint was filed by the Association of Gays,
Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgendered in Israel. In a letter to Interior
Minister Gideon Sa’ar, attorney Ben Ilan wrote: “These statements by an
incumbent mayor in the State of Israel comparing the LGBT community to
lawbreakers who must be dealt with by the police or dangers to public health
constitute incitement according to Statutes 144(b) and 144(f) of the penal
code.”
“This constitutes incitement, urging attacks on and a show
of contempt for the LGBT community,” said Shai Doitsh, the chairman of the Association.
“What would the mayor of Beit Shemesh say if he were to hear another mayor say
on television that he would deal with Haredim through the police and the Health
Ministry? Would he think it was appropriate for such a person to continue
serving as the mayor of a city?”
Eli Cohen, the challenger who lost the election to Abutbul,
criticized the Shas mayor on his Facebook page, saying, “The mayor needs to
understand that people with whom he does not agree, people who are different
from him, are also within his sphere of responsibility. The statement that ‘the
Health Ministry will deal with them’ is not fitting for a public figure and
should certainly not be directed toward the long-time residents of Beit
Shemesh. Abutbul has not learned that there are residents in the city who are
different from him, and he has an obligation to treat them properly.”
Meanwhile, Cohen, who had the support of most of the city’s
non-Haredi parties in the election, will submit a request for new elections to
the Jerusalem District Court on Monday, claiming voting irregulatrities. The
Knesset’s Internal Affairs and Environment Committee will meet at 11 A.M. to
discuss the matter.
The Israel Police continue to investigate allegations of
voter fraud in Beit Shemesh, following reports of forgery and irregularities at
polling stations. Cohen’s supporters are confident that they have sufficient
proof of people voting in various places, the disqualification of large numbers
of ballots and other problems.
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