'Gay IDF soldiers' storm Bennett's Facebook page

A still from the Israeli film 'Yossi and Jagger.' Photo by Facebook

Critics invoke scene from iconic Israeli film 'Yossi and Jagger' in latest protest of Bennett's stance on same-sex couples.

Dozens of Israelis bombarded a Facebook post by Habayit Hayehudi chairman Naftali Bennett, in which he praised Israel Defense Forces troops currently serving in the snow, with still shots from the Israeli movie “Yossi and Jagger,” about a love affair between two combat soldiers.

All the reactions included the same photo of Yossi (played by Ohad Knoller) and Jagger (Yehuda Levi) kissing in the snow and quoting lyrics from the film’s theme song “Bo,” performed by openly gay musician Ivri Lider, including “When cold winds blow outside, I’ll send in you a hot fire,” and “Until when will continue to run away to power games?”

Other commenters added to the photo comments relating to the stance of Habayit Hayehudi regarding LGBT rights, such as “Alllll the soldiers? Even the gay soldiers who are guarding us?” and “To all the soldiers who are guarding us, we love you, but only if you’re straight without same-sex sexual preferences, because then you are tin soldiers. Yours, Naftali.”

Protest has arisen in recent weeks against the stance of Bennett and his party members against same-sex couples. On Wednesday social activists were attacked at a Habayit Hayehudi campaign meeting in Haifa. They said that when Bennett took to the podium to speak, one of the activists pulled out a gay pride flag, at which point some party supporters in the hall set upon them.

In a previous visit by Bennett to the Blich high school in Ramat Gan, one of the students, Yuval Freiburg Rahamim, stood up wearing a shirt bearing the words “I have two mothers, and I do not apologize.” A photo of him wearing the shirt also garnered many supportive comments on the web.

The debate between the LGBT community and supporters of same-sex marriages, and Habayit Hayehudi activists was sparked by a clip published last month in which candidates in the party’s primaries are asked their opinion on same-sex marriage (the clip was released prior to the primaries). Most of the respondents expressed opposition to the idea, and some even vehemently denied its existence.

Via  Haaretz