Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis sparked outrage Tuesday when he told female Knesset members to "stop whining" if they want to effect change.
Akunis made the remark while speaking at a Knesset session marking International Women's Day, which is held on March 8.
"You want to mark it [Women's Day] and that's fine; I'll go with the flow," Akunis said.
"[But] feminism does not mean constantly whining. It means taking action."
Ironically, Akunis was filling in for Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel.
Further driving home his point, he continued, "Being a feminist is … being like [Margaret] Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, [Tansu] Ciller [former prime ministers of the U.K., India and Turkey], and [U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.] Nikki Haley.
"You should change your old-fashioned perceptions and learn from them. If you continue to whine, you will never become leaders."
Interestingly, Israel's only female prime minister, Golda Meir, did not make his list of inspiring feminists.
Several MKs walked out of the plenum during Akunis' speech, while others interjected, saying he was being disrespectful to the topic of the session.
Zionist Union MK Hilik Bar slammed Akunis' remarks as a "disgrace," adding, "I hope your wife lets you back in the house today."
Akunis retorted, "Shame on you for stooping to that level."
After the session, Zionist Union MK Revital Swid tweeted, "Here's a short lesson: For years, the women that you describe as 'whiners' have changed the course of history. Your comments are exactly why we need a women's day in 2018."
Kulanu MK Rachel Azaria tweeted, "Can someone please tell me what happened to Ofir Akunis? He just called women whiners on International Women's Day. I wasn't expecting that."
Women's rights activist and Joint Arab List MK Aida Touma-Suleiman said Akunis' remarks were "shameful" and that marking International Women's Day "symbolizes hope in the struggle for a more just society."
Following the incident, Yesh Atid MK Aliza Lavie wrote a letter to Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein asking that he ensure that a female minister speak at future plenum sessions on International Women's Day.
Akunis later said he was sorry if anyone was offended by his remarks.
