So much for the existence of a secular state.
Ok, but with that zing aside: following Peretz's homophobic remark, a large number of school directors and Mayors condemned it and said that they're going to have special tolerance lessons to teach children to respect others regardless of sexual orientation, religion, race and gender. If you were in some other Middle Eastern countries (such as Iran and Saudi Arabia), these people would be executed. In the rest of the Middle East they'd suffer in other ways. I realize this is not the countries Israel should want to be compared with, but let's be real, the nearly-universal condemnation of Peretz's homophobia are good signs.
My biggest gripe with this incident is that Peretz also said that if Israel annexes the West Bank, the Palestinian population "will be able to vote in their municipal elections". This is basiscally an endorsement of appartheid where they don't get a citizenship and a vote for parliament. This should've gotten more attention and condemnation.
