Israel Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, who once said all LGBT+ people are sinners, has tested positive for the coronavirus. According to Israel National News, Litzman has been described as Israel’s “most homophobic minister”. With being Israel’s health minister, he also leads the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party.
Last month, an ultra-Orthodox Israeli rabbi named Meir Mazuz made a comment about COVID-19 being a divine punishment. Coronavirus is a divine punishment from God because of Pride parades.
Earlier this month, Litzman and his wife Chava have tested positive for the COVID-19. and as a result of recent contact with him, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several other top government officials of the country have been forced to self-isolate for 15 days.
The Israeli daily Haaretz reported that the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency and the National Security Council were also asked to self-quarantine because of their interactions with Litzman.
According to The Times of Israel, Litzman, 71, has been accused of violating his own ministry’s guidelines on social distancing in order to continue to attend prayer services. and by doing so endangered many Israel’s leaders.
A TV report said,” Israel Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, who tested positive for the coronavirus late Wednesday, allegedly broke his own ministry’s guidelines on social distancing by attending group prayer services in the days before he was diagnosed.”
Witnesses said he was seen praying at the home of another member of his sect three days after indoor services were banned. Although his office has denied all accusations that Litzman broke his own social distancing rules.
Israel has gone into partial-lockdow to counter the coronavirus outbreak. The country has reported more than 9000 confirmed cases and 60 people have died from COVID-19 to date (april,7 2020).
In 2016, He said that LGBT+ people were “sinners”. And voted against allowing same-sex civil unions, same-sex couples adopting, educating health professionals about gender identity and sexual orientation, prohibiting conversion therapy and giving same-sex partners of killed soldiers the same the benefits as opposite-sex couples.
Last week, He was asked if lockdown restrictions would be lifted before Easter, he said: “We pray and hope that the Messiah will arrive before Easter, the time of our redemption. “I am sure that the Messiah will come and take us out as God took us out of Egypt. We will soon be free and the Messiah will come and save us from all the world’s troubles.”