A recent article printed in a magazine produced by Israel's Channel 14 sparked a public outcry this week, as it allegedly incites against the country's LGBTQ community.
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Channel 14, an Israeli commercial television channel, is the recent reincarnation of cable's Channel 20, better known as the Jewish Heritage Channel. Originally airing mostly religious-oriented content, in its current version, the station also airs news and current affairs programs, and boasts a monthly magazine, Channel 14 Now, which purports to focus on "matter on the public agenda from a conservative point of view."
The magazine's recent cover story, however, featured an image of the biblical golden calf in the colors of the gay pride flag, with the headline "LGBTstan: How radical left-wing organizations impose the LGBT religion in Israel."
Author Gali Ben-Horin told Channel 13 News that she stands by the piece, which she asserted was "not homophobic" but rather "shines a light on a political issue," namely the fact that the gay community in Israel "is being used by radical left-wing groups."
The explanation did little to assuage public anger over the peace with lawmakers, journalists, and LGBTQ activists expressing shock over what many denounced as "blatant incitement."
"It's sad that this is what the cover of an Israeli magazine looks like in 2022," Social Equality Minister Meirav Cohen tweeted. "Gender identity has nothing to do with political views, and the attempt to paint the gay community as a dangerous religion is ridiculous and insulting. For me, this is a reminder to work even harder to implement our investment in the LGBTQ community."
The Aguda – Israel's LGBT Task Force slammed the article as "dangerous incitement fueling hatred for the sake of hatred. This is a reminder that our fight for safety and equality is far from over," Walla news reported.
Many gay forums on social media slammed the magazine feature as "a very obvious media spin."
"This is brilliant and terrifying rhetoric that seeks to set us apart from our political fight. This way, they can always say they have nothing against the LGBTQ community only against those 'exploiting' us. For many, this softens homophobia and legitimizes persecution," one activist wrote on Facebook.
Religious LGBTQ advocacy group Havruta condemned the magazine, saying in a statement that "It is Channel 14 and its sponsors who are guilty is worshiping foreign values. There is no worse idolatry than translating cheap Christian propaganda from the deep American South.
"The real modern golden calf is the hate money that funds the channel's unfounded anti-gay propaganda. It seems that Channel 14 wants to stay a small, marginal, parody of a media outlet, and as long as it targets LGBTQ culture in this country it will remain just so. Hevruta and the other Jewish LGBTQ groups will continue to raise both flags – the pride flag and the religious one – in the most authentic Jewish and Israeli way there is."
MK Yorai Lahav-Hertzano expressed shock over the publication, tweeting, "An Israeli media outlet is shamelessly promoting savage persecution against an entire community of people just because they were created in the image [of God]. This is anything but freedom of expression, and it's anything but Israeli and Jewish. This is unbelievable. This is disgusting."
Business and media magazine Ice reported a rise in calls on social media to boycott companies advertising on Channel 14.
This may pose a problem for the outlet, which is currently waging a campaign against advertisers who won't place ads with it, allegedly over its political orientation.
The decision, however, may not be theirs, as such matters are usually decided by the media buying agencies retailers retain, and they usually base their decisions on ratings and potential exposure rates to ads, the report explained.
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