A Gay PM In Israel's Future?

A poll published by the Hebrew-language daily Yediot Aharonot on Friday showed that nearly half of Israelis surveyed are ready for a gay prime minister, reports the Jerusalem Post.

Among respondents, 25% said that they were certain they were ready for a gay prime minters, and 19% said they thought they were ready. Some 13% said that they were unsure, while 7% said they were not ready, and 11% did not answer.

The findings come less than one month after the shooting that killed two at a Tel Aviv gay youth center, and prompted religious-based threats against the Israeli LGBT community.

In a sign of the depth of hostility that remains against LGBT public officials, however, Ya’akov Katz, chairman of the hardline National Union party, told the Jerusalem Post that a gay prime minister would be comparable to a leader who was a pedophile or slept with animals.

“I can’t understand how a man can kiss another man,” Katz said. “When I think about it, I want to vomit. When I think about a bearded man fondling another bearded man, it kills me like it kills me when I think of [a man sleeping with sheep and horses].”