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‘The homosexuals who came to consult me weren’t proud’

July 19, 2016

Rabbi Ratzon Arusi, the Rabbi of Kiryat Ono (near Tel Aviv) and an expert in Jewish law, weighed in yesterday (Monday) about the growing media storm over LGBT issues, calling for a more civil and substantive debate.

The “LGBT issue” has come to the fore in Israeli discourse once again in recent days, following controversial comments made by Rabbi Yigal Levinstein – triggering condemnations from Education Minister Naftali Bennett and the Defense Ministry, among others, as well as statements of support by other rabbis – and the cancellation of the Gay pride parade in Be’er Sheva.

“There is a serious ethical debate to be had here, and it should be conducted in the most serious and substantive way possible. Unfortunately, the conversation has become abrasive and partisan,” the Rabbi said, going on to assert that “gay pride” as a political movement is divorced from the realities many individual Jewish homosexuals face.

He related that many members of the LGBT community come to consult with him and not one of them is “proud” of their personal situation.

“There is no doubt that homosexuality is not a natural thing. I, who deal with homosexuals personally, not as part of a group or movement, just face to face with people who come to pour their hearts out to me, can say that there wasn’t one case where someone came to me who was proud or happy, rather they were all upset about the fact that they’re different and thus prevented from living a normal life.

“There was also never a parent who wasn’t terribly upset when he found out that his son or daughter was a homosexual. They all hurt.”

Rabbi Arusi then turned to speaking about the LGBT rights organizations, who he claims are not concerned with the well-being of homosexuals at all.

“In my humble opinion, a disservice is done to those precious Jews who are homosexuals by establishing these organizations that urge them to be demanding and march in pride parades. I have lots of life experience, and I’ve never seen someone who’s proud to air out his intimate matters publicly.

“These organizations encourage a backwards view of things, where those who actually need special attention in quietly figuring out how to improve their personal situations, are made into a political “issue”, and a subject of very abrasive political feuds because of these parades.”

According to Rabbi Arusi, “We must make sure to exhibit tolerance and humanity towards homosexuals, but we also ask of them, our dear brothers: Please don’t fall into the trap of those agenda-driven political propaganda mongers, who are only using you as a tool to undermine the fundamentals of Judaism, under the guise of helping you.”

‘Western influence’

“After all, these matters are clear. The Jewish people has never recognized a single-sex family unit. It’s not only the Jewish nation, but many nations and societies have never recognized the legitimacy of a single-sex family unit,” the Rabbi explained.

“It’s only the modern western society that is beginning to build up this model of a thing called a single-sex family unit. But we must understand that western society is fundamentally different from Jewish society.

“Western society glorifies the individual to the point that the individualism undermines the basic values of the whole. A society needs to be something connected. The moment you destroy this connection, there is no more society, just a collection of humans. This is why western society is wrong and misleading when it calls this the LGBT ‘community’.

“The Jewish value system never was interested in trampling homosexuals,” Rabbi Arusi made sure to emphasize, “it’s just that there is a family unit which is based on the potential for reproduction. When there is no such potential there is no family unit. There are family relationships in non-Jewish societies too, but it’s often fluid and weak, while our family unit is strong and stable because it has a basis in reality.

“In our world the sanctity of the individual and the sanctity of the community complete each other,” the Rabbi continued, “and we certainly recognize a threat from a western culture that undermines the sanctity of the community because without community we have no nation. Our nation survived despite being scattered all around the globe for 2,000 years of exile with no state and no sovereignty, because the basic values of Judaism were preserved. For this reason I urge all of the member of our nation to cease and desist from this abrasive discourse.

Rabbi Arusi continued by underscoring the need to find a balanced approach.

“We need to find the balance between the discourse of the homosexuals and those who, while not being at all against the homosexuals, support the preservation of basic Jewish values. That’s the equation. Therefore the less organized and combative the homosexuals will be, the more we’ll be able to find a way to respectfully debate, while preserving Jewish values, of course.

“A single-sex family unit? Certainly not. Homosexual relationships? Not with the official approval of Jewish society because you can’t impose things on Jewish law (Halacha). These relationships can only be legitimized in the civil and legal spheres, not the Halachic sphere. Any attempt to coerce Halachic decisors to rule in opposition to Halacha is a completely undemocratic action. This kind of coercion would cause the loss of Israel’s Jewish and democratic identities,” Rabbi Arusi concluded.

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