Israeli politicians and community leaders have called for the resignation of a top Jerusalem rabbi after he said Jewish law prescribed the death penalty for gays. In in an interview with Yisrael Hayom, Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar said homosexuality was a “cult of abomination” which the Torah “punishes with death…This is in the first line of serious sins.” Amar’s comments were met with fury by members of the LGBTQ community and champions of civil liberties in Israel. Members of parliament have written to the the prime minister to complain. “A public figure that puts Israeli citizens’ life at risk using incitement and exclusion should be immediately fired,” MPs said in a letter to Benjamin Netanyahu. RT reports: Amar added that he didn’t believe in some people having a homosexual orientation, calling such claims “nonsense.” “There are desires and a person can overcome it if he wants, like all other desire,” Jerusalem’s top rabbi said. After the release of extracts from Amar interview on Thursday, an LGBT activist, Shirley Kleinman, filed a complaint to the police, blaming the cleric for incitement to murder. “Let’s try and ensure that this man will not remain in his key public position,” Kleinman wrote [...]
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