An Israeli lawmaker for the Jewish ultra-Orthodox Shas party resigned on Wednesday after he was heavily criticized for attending his nephew's same-sex wedding. Yigal Guetta announced his resignation after saying in an interview last week that he attended the nephew's wedding two years ago.
During the interview Guetta said that same-sex marriage is "forbidden in the Torah (Jewish bible)" but he nevertheless attended the wedding out of respect for his sister. Guetta received support from centre and left-wing lawmakers following his resignation.
'It's sad that in 2017 in Israel a Knesset member is forced to resign because he participated in the wedding of two people that love each other,' Yair Lapid, the head of the centrist Yesh Atid party said on Twitter.
Israel is known for its integration of LGBT persons in the military and Tel Aviv features a yearly gay-pride parade, which is the biggest in the Middle East. However, among the ultra-Orthodox community, who adhere to strict interpretations of the Bible, gay relationships are strictly opposed.
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