Making history, Amir Ohana becomes first gay Knesset speaker

Ohana promised to protect the rights of LGBTQ in his opening speech at the Knesset

By Jotam Confino in Israel 30 December 2022, 11:57 am

The new speaker of the Knesset, Amir Ohana, receives his gavel as Israel's new right-wing government is sworn in at a special session of the Knesset in Jerusalem on Thursday, December 29, 2022. Netanyahu became the Prime Minister of Israel for the third time. Pool Photo by Amir Cohen/ Credit: UPI/Alamy Live News

Likud’s Amir Ohana made history on Thursday when he was elected Knesset Speaker, becoming the first gay lawmaker to hold that position.

The politician is a close confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has previously served as both justice and public security minister.

“This Knesset, under the leadership of this speaker, won’t hurt them or any other family, period,” Ohana said, referring to his family and the rest of Israel’s LGBTQ community.

Ohana also thanked his family as well as his partner through 18 years, Alon Haddad, who watched Ohana’s Knesset speech along with their two children, Ella and David.

In 2019, Ohana also made history when he became the first openly gay Israeli minister, taking over the justice ministry from Ayelet Shaked.

The appointment stands in stark contrast to the homophobic comments made by a number of the new ministers in Netanyahu’s government.

Finance Minister Smotrich, a self-declared proud homophobe, has made several controversial remarks about the LGBTQ community over the years, saying he has a “problem” with the community’s “culture”.

Most recently, Avi Maoz, leader of the anti-LGBTQ Noam party and deputy minister in the prime minister’s office, vowed to ban Pride Parades, which he called “a promiscuous parade of abomination.”