Homosexuality caused the earthquakes that recently struck Israel, an Orthodox Israeli lawmaker said.
Shlomo Benizri of the Shas Party said during a Knesset discussion of earthquake preparedness on Wednesday that “mundane” measures such as seismic detectors and building fortifications are not enough.
“The Talmud explains why earthquakes happen, and one of these reasons, which the Knesset sanctions, is sodomy,” Benizri said in the plenum.
He suggested that “millions” of shekels could be saved if Israel reviews its liberal laws on gay rights.
Shas, a Sephardic Orthodox party, is a member of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s coalition government. Olmert’s office declined to comment on Benizri’s remarks.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
