Rabbi Shay Piron
Once A Villain, Zionist Orthodox Rabbi Now Gets Unexpected Support From Gays, Lesbians
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Ynet reports that Rabbi Shay Piron, who was named to the second spot on secularist Yair Lapid's new political party Yesh Atid’s list, has received strong unexpected support from Israel’s LGBT community, even though the Zionist Orthodox rabbi once advocated for change therapy for homosexuals.
Piron and Lapid have both pointed out many times in the past few months that Piron's view on the subject has evolved over the years. Piron even visited the Bar-Noar gay youth center in Tel Aviv after the shooting attack there three years ago.
Change therapy is strongly hated in the gay community and has been linked to a spate of suicides and bouts of major depression. The academic who originally pioneered change therapy retracted his support for it last year, citing among other things those dangers.
"We are witnessing major changes over the last decade in the way society treats homosexuals and lesbians… Rabbi Piron has become one of the greatest leaders of this change…not only has Rabbi Piron apologized for his previous statement, he has also been extremely helpful with various issues concerning the religious lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual community,” a statement from the LGBT community read.
"This isn't about making a political statement, but about stating the truth and acknowledging the rabbi's efforts for our community… we wish more religious leaders would be willing to openly support Rabbi Piron's actions and promote equality in Israel,” Daniel Yunes, head of the Hevruta LGBT organization reportedly said.