Israel’s top judge says homophobic ads are allowed on giant billboards

A Supreme Court judge in Israel has said homophobic political adverts must be allowed on giant billboards across the country.

The newly-formed Charedi party Noam, whose adverts link homosexuality with child trafficking, heralded “a great victory” after a parliamentary body chaired by Israeli Supreme Court justice Neal Hendel handed down the judgement.

It said that under Israel’s election laws, advertisers must either sell to any political party or sell to none at all, adding that this included those whose “values are different… from those of the advertising agency”.

Referring to the annual Gay Pride March, Noam’s advert reads: “Pride and the buying of children or my son will marry a woman – Israel chooses to be normal.”

Two big advertising agencies – Cnaan Media and Y. Moore – had unsuccessfully argued that they should be allowed to refuse to host such adverts, in part because Israel allows same-sex relations, one of few Middle East countries to do so.

LGBT+ lobbyist Or Keshet said the issue at-hand had “nothing to do with freedom of speech,” adding that groups like Noam “hate and mock and insult anyone who is different than them”.

A spokesman for the Association of Gay Israeli Fathers said: “When children like ours – 5, 6, 8 year-olds – see this kind of hate advertising, they ask us, ‘Dad, do you think that I am normal?’”

Noam’s Twitter post calling the decision a ‘great victory’: