According to The Guardian, panel chair Keith Self of Texas introduced McBride when it was her turn to speak by saying, "I now recognize the representative from Delaware, Mr McBride." McBride responded satirically, "Thank you, Madam Chair," before attempting to continue with her questions.

The exchange prompted Massachusetts Democrat Bill Keating to intervene, The Guardian reported. "Mr Chairman, could you repeat your instruction again, please?" Keating asked, challenging Self on his introduction. When Self repeated the same address, Keating became visibly upset, saying, "Mr Chairman, you are out of order. Mr Chairman, have you no decency? I mean, I've come to know you a little bit, but this is not decent."

Self attempted to continue the hearing, but Keating persisted, his voice rising as he gestured toward McBride. "You will not continue it with me, unless you introduce a duly elected representative the right way," Keating said, as reported by The Guardian. At that point, Self banged the gavel and declared, "This hearing is adjourned."

Trans congresswoman Sarah McBride misgendered twice at hearing. pic.twitter.com/FDI5FeuKA6

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) March 12, 2025

The hearing, which was supposed to cover "arms control, national security, and US assistance to Europe: review and reforms for the state department," ended prematurely amid increased concern over the Trump administration's treatment of European allies and its talks with Russia meant to end the war in Ukraine.

Following the incident, McBride issued a statement expressing disappointment. "I was disappointed that the chair decided to end a committee hearing early," she said. "I was prepared to move forward with my questions for the subcommittee on nuclear nonproliferation and US support for democratic allies in Europe."

Self later posted video of the confrontation online, echoing an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January. "It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female," Self wrote, according to The Guardian.

Under the Trump administration, Republicans have made attacks on transgender rights a central part of their party platform, especially targeting healthcare for trans youth, transgender troops, and official recognition of gender. President Trump declared during his inauguration speech that his government would only recognize two genders – male and female – and followed up with an executive order.

McBride has previously stated she intends to "pick her battles" and avoid rising to Republicans' provocations. "I think we are all united that attempts to attack a vulnerable community are not only mean-spirited but really an attempt to misdirect," she told CBS. "Because every single time we hear the incoming administration or Republicans in Congress talk about any vulnerable group in this country, we have to be clear that it is an attempt to distract."

She continued, "Every single time we hear them say the word 'trans', look at what they're doing with their right hand. Look at what they're doing to pick the pocket of American workers, to fleece seniors by privatizing social security and Medicare. Look at what they're doing, undermining workers."

Speaking to the New York Times, McBride revealed that behind the scenes some Republicans have been "warm and welcoming," though they have not defended her in public. This contrasts with her public treatment, which has included being repeatedly misgendered on the House floor and targeted with legislation by South Carolina representative Nancy Mace to ban transgender women from using women's bathrooms on Capitol Hill – a ban that was imposed in November.

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According to reports from Italy's leading newspapers La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera, Pope Francis allegedly employed a highly offensive slur toward the LGBTQ community during a recent closed-door gathering with Italian bishops. The publications claim the pontiff reiterated his stance that gay individuals should not be admitted to the priesthood, purportedly stating that seminaries are already excessively populated with "frociaggine" – a vulgar Italian term that roughly translates to "faggotness."

The Vatican has not responded to requests for commentary regarding the alleged incident, which is said to have transpired on May 20th. 

As recounted by La Repubblica, based on multiple unnamed sources, and Corriere della Sera, citing unspecified bishops, the Pope's reported language stands in stark contrast to his previous statements that have been viewed as more embracing of the LGBTQ community. In 2013, at the outset of his papacy, Francis famously remarked, "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?"

However, the Pope has also made contradictory pronouncements, such as instructing Italian bishops in 2018 to meticulously vet applicants for the priesthood and reject any individuals suspected of being gay. A 2005 Vatican document from Benedict XVI's pontificate stated that the Church could admit those who had "overcome" gay tendencies for at least three years but should bar individuals with "deep-seated" same-sex attraction or those who "support the so-called gay culture."

Il Messaggero, a national Roman newspaper, reported that "It's the fault of some bishop who broke his mandate of silence to report the gaffe that occurred last week," referring to the alleged anti-gay slur during an informal Q&A at the annual Italian Bishops' Conference meeting attended by over 200 clergy members.

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Avi Maoz, who heads the ultra-conservative Noam faction in the Knesset and has been accused of spreading homophobia, tendered his resignation as a deputy minister in the new government on Monday.

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Maoz's departure was the first crack in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition, which assumed office in late December after securing a parliamentary majority in the November elections.

Maoz, the head of a small ultranationalist faction known for his anti-LGBT rhetoric and disparaging remarks about non-Orthodox Jews, said he would step down as a deputy minister but would continue to vote with the coalition in parliament. Netanyahu's ruling coalition holds 64 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.

The Noam faction leader wrote in a letter to Netanyahu on Monday that he "found that there is no serious intention to uphold the coalition agreement" concerning an office to bolster Jewish identity among Israelis.

Maoz, a settler and an outspoken opponent of LGBTQ rights and women serving in the military, has voiced opposition to Arabs teaching Jewish students in Israeli schools. He has denied the legitimacy of non-Orthodox Judaism, including the Reform and Conservative streams, which are marginal in Israel but dominant in the US and have long provided the country with financial and diplomatic support.

Maoz's Noam faction ran in the last elections on a joint ticket with Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party, which won 14 seats in the Knesset, making it the third-largest faction.

Netanyahu and his allies are advancing a series of bills that aim to weaken the Supreme Court and give politicians greater power over judicial appointments. Opponents to the judicial overhaul say the proposed changes threaten Israel's democratic institutions and will concentrate power in the hands of the government. They've assembled weekly for mass protests.

"I will continue, God willing, as a member of the coalition" and support the "very important" judicial overhaul, Moaz wrote.

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President Isaac Herzog voiced concern for the well-being of all members of the public regardless of their identity or values on Sunday after far-Right members of the incoming government called for revisions to anti-discrimination laws.

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Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, who is preparing to present his coalition this week and submit his cabinet for a confidence vote that would officially inaugurate him as prime minister, has vowed to preserve principles of tolerance.

But his political rivals have accused the veteran conservative leader of being vulnerable to his far-right allies' policy demands. "A situation whereby citizens of Israel fear threats against them based on their identity or values runs counter to the basic democratic and ethic principles of Israel," Herzog, whose role is largely symbolic, wrote on Twitter. Netanyahu said twice on Sunday that his government would safeguard equal rights, however.

"We will not allow discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community or harm to the rights of any other citizens of Israel," he said in one statement.

Earlier on Sunday, an incoming member of Israel's government from the right-wing Religious Zionism party told public radio that hotels should be allowed to refuse services to people based on religious grounds as well as doctors, as long as others are available.

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Designated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare rebuke of his new coalition allies on Sunday for saying they would advance laws allowing discrimination against LGBTQ people, pledging there would be no harm to their rights by his upcoming government.

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Netanyahu is set to swear in a new administration comprising Likud and several openly anti-LGBTQ parties. This has raised fears among Israel's LGBTQ community that the new government, expected to take office in the coming week, will roll back gains made for LGBTQ rights in Israel in recent years.

Orit Struck, a Religious Zionist Party member of the Knesset said her party, which has signed a coalition deal with Likud, seeks a change to the country's anti-discrimination law that would include permitting people to avoid acts that go against their religious beliefs, including discriminating against LGBTQ people in hospitals.

Struck said in an interview on Sunday with public radio that "so long as there are enough other doctors to provide care," religious healthcare providers should be able refuse to treat LGBTQ patients.

Simcha Rotman, another member of the party, said that private business owners, such as hotel operators, should be allowed to refuse service to LGBTQ "if it harms their religious feelings."

Netanyahu said that Struck's remarks "are unacceptable to me and to members of Likud," and that the coalition agreement "does not allow discrimination against LGBTQ or harming their right to receive services like all other Israeli citizens."

The outgoing government took several small steps to advance LGBTQ rights, including rescinding a ban on blood donations by gay men, streamlining access to gender reassignment surgery and taking a clear stand against "conversion therapy," the scientifically discredited practice of using therapy to "convert" LGBTQ people to heterosexuality or traditional gender expectations.

Members of the LGBTQ community serve openly in Israel's military and parliament, and many popular artists and entertainers as well as several former government ministers are openly gay. But leaders of the LGBTQ community say Israel has a long way to go to promote equality.

Netanyahu and his religious and nationalist parties captured a majority of seats in the Knesset in Nov. 1 elections. Last week, he said he had successfully formed a new coalition. The government, however, has not yet been sworn into office, and Netanyahu and his partners are still finalizing their power-sharing agreements.

Netanyahu served for 12 years as Israel's prime minister before he was unseated in 2021, when the shortlived alliance of lawmakers opposing him managed to secure a fragile majority in parliament, which unraveled several months later.

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A likable Israeli couple occupied the seats next to me on the plane about to take off for America. They were busy passing their baby daughter from one to another, anxious to calm her down so that she wouldn't disturb the other passengers.

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"Relax, kids don't bother me," I told the father. Both he and his wife apparently belong to the New York high-tech scene. The baby was just four months old, and her parents had attached an electronic dream sock monitor to her foot. "This is an app that checks her vitals, monitoring parameters such as blood pressure, oxygen, and heart rate. It also alerts us if our daughter is crying or has woken up. This helps us to be constantly aware of what is going on with her. A permanent babysitter," the guy next to me explained.

This was all new to me, but admittedly, quite refreshingly so. What really bowled me over; however, was the alarm that the sock had sent the previous day. "We received a request to select her gender – boy or girl or trans or other," the guy told me. "We were deliberating whether or not to comply with it, but after all, she is only four months old. It does appear to be rather excessive," he added.

At my request and to my astonishment, he showed me the precise wording of the notice he had received. Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would definitely not have believed it. Lo and behold, a notice offering the parents the chance to select the gender of their four-month-old baby, with multiple options ranging from "male" to "female".

A woman is always a woman?

Only a few days earlier, by chance, I came across the movie "What is a Woman?" made by American journalist, Matt Walsh. This documentary exposed me to a whole world I had previously not been aware of, and which might easily be called the gender madness industry that is sweeping across America.

The first part of What is a Woman? is mainly entertaining. In the movie, Walsh presents a whole series of interviews with physicians, experts, philosophers, and politicians, who either cannot, refuse to, or are afraid of answering the seemingly straightforward question: What is a Woman?

Any sane individual would say that a woman is a person with female organs, that is how she was born and how she lives. But the progressive discourse that has taken over America will not allow people to voice this one simple truth. The extent of the madness that has struck our greatest ally is astonishing, so much so that certain experts explicitly state: "Yes, a woman can have male genitalia, and a man can have female genitalia." When Walsh gently confronts them with the sophisticated thesis – they get tangled up, annoyed, offensive or abandon the interview with a display of anger. "The emperor has no clothes," literally.

Up to this point, the movie is even quite amusing. But, as it progresses, Walsh sheds light on the identity-related darkness that is fast becoming the young generation in the US. He brings together dozens of relatively smaller phenomena, which usually would hardly even make the headlines on the innermost pages of the newspaper. For example, boys who "feel like women" and thus undress in the girl students bathroom and even attack them, but the victims of such violence are kept quiet; five hospitals and an unknown number of private clinics that carry out sex-change operations for children across America; young girls who are being sidelined from sports and beauty competitions because boys "who feel like girls" take part; a Canadian father who was sent to jail(!) because he insisted on calling his 14-year old daughter "she"; and the latest incident, which could not be verified: children who cry out "meow" instead of answering questions because they "discovered" that they are really cats (their teachers are of course prohibited from saying anything to them).

The most heartbreaking moments in the movie are reserved for Scott (Kellie) Newgent, who underwent medical transition, changing his sex from a woman to a man. In a broken voice, he shows the camera the scars on his contorted arm, and he laments his lost life. "Nobody warned me of the consequences, it is forbidden to talk about them. We are butchering a generation of children because nobody is willing to talk about anything," he tells. It is virtually impossible to avoid crying together with him.

"It will be knocking at your doorstep too"

In his search for someone to explain to him what is happening to America, Walsh came to Dr. Miriam Grossman, a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, and one of the few in America who dares to open her mouth and go against the establishment. Following Walsh, I too went to meet Dr. Grossman in New Jersey.

"I am going to tell you things that are not easy to talk about. You'll probably think that I am exaggerating and over-dramatic, but I promise you that is not the case," she says in a hushed tone, at the start of our talk. "Every day I speak with parents and children who are the victims of this movement. I wish to stress from the outset that I am not leveling any criticism at the transgenders themselves, but rather those who generate the transgender phenomenon. It is they who cause enormous, indescribable suffering, both in terms of scope and intensity. You really must publish this as now it is happening here, and in no time at all it will be knocking at your doorstep too."

Q: What is going on? What is this phenomenon?

"I have been working in sex and gender education for many years. What has been occurring in recent years is an epidemic."

Q: An epidemic?

"Yes, there are simply huge numbers of people and families dealing with what is going on. In the past, these were only rare cases. In 35 years of work, I came across only one such case. Until what is currently going on, we knew of two groups of people contending with gender identity issues:  one of extremely young children, from the age of three and above, usually boys, who would say 'I want to be a girl.' This is a familiar phenomenon that has been studied and documented. The known practice was to wait, and in most cases, they would live at peace with their body, without taking medication. Most of them would continue to develop through adolescence and retain their gender; the second group, which is also a rare one, was of adults, usually males, who would enjoy wearing women's clothing or appearing as women. What is commonly known as 'drag'.

"What has happened in recent years is that a third group has emerged from nowhere, mainly of teenagers, who on reaching adolescence, without having ever said this previously, suddenly announce: 'I am a transgender, I want to change my sex.' I don't have precise statistics, but the numbers are enormous."

Q: What is the explanation for this wave?

"The figure who formulated the sixties' theory that a person's biology – his body and his chromosomes – are completely separate from his subjective feeling as to whether he is male or female, was a professor of medical psychology named John Money. His research was eventually shown to be a failure and it was scientifically proven that the opposite was true. Nevertheless, the ideas of Money – who was later deemed to have sexually abused children – were adopted by the worlds of medicine, mental health, and psychiatry in the USA, and later on the education system too. Today, from kindergarten age, children already learn that their body might not necessarily reflect their gender." She is quoting a survey published in the New York Times, according to which more than 60% of those questioned in the 30-plus category said they believe that a person's sex is defined by his biological sex at birth. In contrast, 61% of those questioned in the 18-29 age group said they believe that their gender identity is separate from their biological sex.

"The difference between the younger and the older groups stems from the propagation of gender ideology. Children until the age of five undergo indoctrination at school. The result is a social phenomenon of young boys and girls who want to make the change, and on occasion even come to do it together as a group trend. In many cases, these are children who in any event are on the autistic spectrum or suffer from negative social attitudes, so that joining this trend provides them with the attention that they so dearly crave.

"The phenomenon is subject to broad coverage and immense popularity on social media. You might be taken by surprise, but in 2007 there was one clinic throughout the entire USA providing treatment for minors under the age of 18, who were contending with the issue of gender identity. Today, as far as I know, there are 300 of them. And here is one more statistic – the number of mastectomies carried out for gender reassignment more than tripled between 2016-2019. These are data provided by Vanderbilt University in Nashville."

Q: Do you have first-hand experience with this outbreak?

"Of course. I see these cases on a daily basis at my work. I see the suffering of the parents. They are desperate, to the point of suicide. I see families falling apart, parents who know that something is wrong with their child, but they are unable to tell their sons or daughters the most elementary thing: 'The guidance you are receiving at school and from the health establishment is incorrect.' I see girls and boys entering into the gender reassignment process and they don't have an inkling as to what it entails. They do not understand the risks involved, that they might never be able to have children, or enjoy the pleasure of sexual satisfaction, that they are likely to have to undergo an infinite series of surgical procedures, and that their body will experience phenomena that they simply cannot imagine."

Q: Can you tell me about cases that you have treated?

"Yes, but I must warn you that we will need to talk about cases and aspects that are really not pleasant to discuss in public. Recently, a 17-year-old girl came to me who wanted to have her breasts removed and become a boy. I talked with her family and learned that at the onset of adolescence, this girl's grandmother died of breast cancer after a considerable degree of suffering, and that she was very close to her grandmother. It appears that the trauma of watching her beloved grandmother dying had an impact on the way in which she perceives a woman's body. I talked with her about this, and her situation improved. But you should understand that this girl could easily have undergone hormone treatment or had a mastectomy and might even have ended up becoming childless."

Q: Let me play devil's advocate and say that they may argue that science is on their side and that medical transition surgery is the solution to the problem.

"To tell a young boy or girl that they can change their sex is a pure lie. There is nothing positive, good, or supportive in that message. We need to teach children how to live the reality, as denying reality has a price. An individual cannot change his or her sex. The most that a person can do is to become a synthetic persona of the other sex, which is probably not exactly what they dreamed of.

Secondly, it is most unlikely that such an intimate and sensitive issue that is so deeply connected to that child or young person's very soul should have a generic solution, a sort of magic formula able to easily solving an individual's innermost feelings during adolescence, which is known to be an extremely challenging period for everybody. Thirdly, the medical procedure itself is so difficult, involving such harsh implications, but frequently both the children and their parents are not aware of the irreversible results of this process. They too refrain from examining the question of whether minors are equipped to make such life-changing decisions on their own. On top of everything, the fact is that science is not on their side. There are no studies indicating that such surgical procedures are capable of solving these problems. On the contrary, there are countless cases of damage and complications."

Q: Such as?

"The first thing is the fact that the child is being led to believe things that simply are not correct. Secondly, it is important to understand that each such case is extremely complex. In each and every case, we genuinely need to talk with the child, to understand what he or she is going through and to provide a solution that is personally tailored for that specific individual. Instead, we tell him 'You might well be a girl trapped in a boy's body,' or 'the fact that you have male organs, and that they told your mother at birth that you are a boy – is an issue of pure, random chance. The doctor or the midwife should never have said that. They don't know what your gender is.' Such statements undermine a child's psyche, and research has long since established that a child needs stability. Stability is a prerequisite for the upbringing of healthy people.

"There is a new language here, which did not exist ten years ago. For example, a young man came to see me and said that he has a new friend, and I am prohibited from asking whether that friend is a boy or girl. As far as today's youth see things, the very act of asking such a question is both gender discrimination and generalization. You see? They have indoctrinated an entire generation."

Q: Apart from the difference between sex and gender, and from the prohibition of asking whether somebody is a boy or a girl, what other components make up this language?

"The term they use in relation to someone who raises questions as to their sexual identity is 'gender-affirming treatment'. The meaning of this term is that everything that the child tells us in relation to his/her identity, we as caregivers have to accept and affirm, and the attitude we display must be in accordance with this. But this approach in itself is in effect an experiment on humans, on their body and soul, and people pay a very high price for these medical experiments."

No way back

In order to validate her claim that this involves experiments on humans, Grossman refers me to things said recently by Dr. Marci Bowers, a biological man who underwent gender reassignment surgery to become a woman and today serves as a leading physician in the field of medical transitioning in the US. According to Bowers, she and her associates work using a trial-and-error method: "Anybody who underwent surgery as a child and received 'blockers' [tablets to suppress the hormones responsible for sexual development] will never have testosterone (the key hormone in sexual development). So that we do not know if they will ever experience sexual satisfaction... I know that the feeling of proximity and intimacy is extremely important, so that a lack of this raised a red flag for me. We need to keep our eyes open and talk about this... Let's see what will occur... There are questions that do not have an answer... Is it possible to prevent the processes of puberty and then attain good results as adults? How can we guarantee that they will have a sexual response? Maybe we need to remove the blockers at a certain stage? Perhaps, to delay a little bit, here and there? Perhaps." By the way, Bowers visited Israel several years ago to provide instruction for physicians here how to conduct the gender reassignment surgery.

Q: Let's go back to the course of treatment they offer. What happens after they tell that boy or young man "Yes, you might really be a girl"?

"The second stage is the 'blockers'. These children are given 'blockers'. On occasions, we are talking about children who are extremely young teenagers. In other words, if this involves a boy seeking to transition to a girl, he will not develop muscles, facial hair or pubic hair, his voice will remain high and his skin will be smooth, as that of a child. The most important thing of all – his male genitalia will not develop and so neither will he develop sperm. For his entire life. The implication of this is that he will never be able to have children. He will often be making this fateful decision regarding his life as a very young teenager. If his parents are opposed to this and warn him, the establishment will tell them that they do not understand him and do not have his best interests at heart – allegations that youth of this age find it very convenient to accept."

Q: And let's suppose that he wants to continue with the process and undergo surgery, what happens then?

"These are terrifying issues, and I don't know just how much graphic detail to go into. In order for a boy to transition into a girl, he needs to be castrated, and on many occasions, this can lead to severe difficulties in the ability to urinate, repeat inflammations and an endless series of surgical procedures to 'correct' the problems.

"In order to build a male organ for a woman, skin is grafted from the arms and from additional locations on the body, which leaves behind terrible scars. As the skin is taken from the arm, on which hair grows, then often inside the male organ being specially constructed, hairs tend to grow inwards, inside the male organ – causing serious infection and indescribable suffering. Of course, both the men and the women seeking to undergo such procedures are required to take medication for the duration of their entire life to suppress their biological sex. They either do not say any of this or they say it in the most minimalist manner to these poor children and their families."

Q: They claim that the gender reassignment surgery saves lives, as otherwise those young boys and girls would commit suicide.

"As far as we know, the opposite is true, as there are no studies on suicidal tendencies among young people who have had the surgery. In contrast, the suicide rate among adults who have had these operations is 19 times higher than within the overall population."

By the way, other studies have found that adult transgenders who have had surgery are 4.9 times more likely to attempt suicide. The suicide rate among transgenders who have transitioned from a man to a woman, and who are receiving hormonal treatment, is 51% higher than that of the overall population. Another related statistic is that 129 patients who medically transitioned from man to woman reported 281 complications, requiring 142 surgical corrections. One study found a rate of 70% complications in penile construction surgery, while a further study noted reports of 64% complications related to the urinary system.

The concern shared by Grossman and others is that financial interests combined with a radically progressive agenda are the driving force behind the wave of transgenderism that is sweeping across America. According to this assumption, the drug companies are promoting this gender confusion or "dysphoria" as it is termed in the professional jargon, as this generates mass dependency on their products, often for life.

"This is not the situation everywhere in the West. In London, the authorities closed down a clinic treating gender problems due to concern that it was providing inappropriate treatment for children. In Sweden, Finland, New Zealand, and other countries too, they are no longer prescribing blockers as there is no research data to prove that their use is safe. It is important to remember that from the outset, the blockers were never actually developed for use in gender reassignment."

Just before we part company, Grossman gives me several books she has written, including "You're Teaching My Child What?" and she also puts me in contact with a number of women in Israel who are trying to stem this tidal wave. Only two of them – Roni Sassover and Alix Aharon – are prepared to come forward and do so while being named. The rest prefer to remain anonymous.

As Grossman anticipated, this wave is indeed on its way to Israel. The Minister of Education, Yifat Shasha-Biton, has recently published guidelines relating to transgender students at school. In essence, the guidelines stipulate that a student should be treated according to his or her declared gender, and this of course also relates to sleeping arrangements in boarding schools, access to toilets, sports lessons, etc. According to the new guidelines, the parents might not necessarily be a part of this overall process. Outgoing Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, has welcomed this move.

Grossman: "The most important thing that Israelis need to know, is that those people promoting this agenda will intentionally approach children with a view to the long-term outcomes entailed in this process. When parents discover that their children have been brainwashed, it is already too late to do anything. Consequently, I say to anybody reading this article: please keep an eye on your children.

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The captains of seven European nations will not wear anti-discrimination armbands in World Cup games after threats from FIFA to show yellow cards to the players.

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"As national federations we can't put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions, including bookings," the seven soccer federations said Monday in a joint statement.

The climbdown after threats from FIFA came hours before England's Harry Kane, the Netherlands' Virgil van Dijk and Wales' Gareth Bale were due to wear the One Love armbands in Monday's games. The captains of Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark were also expected to wear the armbands in the coming days.

Video: Reuters / USA's rainbow logo at training camp part of team's values says Berhalter

"Our number one priority at the World Cup is to win the games," the Dutch soccer federation said in a separate statement. "Then you don't want the captain to start the match with a yellow card."

The One Love campaign was started in the Netherlands and its symbol is a heart-shaped multi-colored logo aimed at promoting inclusion and diversity in soccer and society.

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A star-studded list of over 200 Hollywood notables signed a letter in support of the Tel Aviv International LGBTQ Film Festival (TLVFest), opposing a cultural boycott of the state.

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The letter was published by the non-profit entertainment industry organization Creative Community for Peace.

Neil Patrick Harris, Mayim Bialik, Mila Kunis, Zachary Quinto, Dame Helen Mirren and Lance Bass are among the many celebrities who signed their names to the letter.

The open letter came in response to attempts by anti-Israel activists to boycott the film festival that celebrates international voices from the LGBTQ+ community, including the Middle East. TLVFest says it represents the epitome of coexistence and regularly features Palestinian films, including two this year.

"In Israel, movies have the unique power to bring together Jews, Arabs, and people of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds in collaboration under a shared love of the arts, working together towards the common goal of telling their stories and building bridges of compassion and understanding," the letter said.

The letter's signatories said they believe strongly in the power of film to bring people together, transcend boundaries, broaden awareness, and affect positive societal change. They also called on their friends and colleagues to join in expressing support for a successful TLVFest 2021.

"We stand united with all the participating filmmakers against the divisive rhetoric espoused by boycott activists who seek to misinform, bully and intimidate artists into removing their films from the festival or shame them for participating in the festival," the letter continued.

"Anti-Israel boycott activists intentionally use inflammatory language and make provocative statements to try and bully filmmakers into backing out. Their messages intentionally involve an element of dishonesty and misinformation that only furthers hostility and dampens hope for peace, which all of us so urgently desire," stated Creative Community for Director Peace Ari Ingel.

Ingel added that "support of the boycott movement is also counterproductive and instead of amplifying the voices of coexistence trying to effect real change on the ground, those who support the calls for a boycott are only creating more hostility and division."

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TLVFest 2021 is scheduled to start on November 11 and will run until November 20.

The event will be held at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque.

Other signatories include: Emmanuelle Chriqui (actress); Aaron Bay-Schuck (CEO/Co-Chairman Warner Record); Jeremy Piven (actor, comedian); Marty Adelstein (CEO Tomorrow Studios); Jonathan Tucker (actor); Billy Porter (actor); Gene Simmons (artist, KISS); Greg Berlanti (producer, director); Haim Saban (Chairman & CEO, Saban Capital Group); Robbie Rogers (athlete); Dana Goldberg (Chief Creative Officer of Skydance); Simon Callow (actor); Tracy Ann Oberman (actress); David Burtka (actor); John Benjamin Hickey (actor); Rick Rosen (Co-Founder of Endeavor); Ben Silverman (Chairman & Co-CEO, Propagate Content); Melissa Rivers (actress, TV Host); Paul Feig (actor/director); Michael Rotenberg (Partner, 3 Arts Entertainment); Eric Balfour (actor); Rachel Riley (TV Host); Richard Benjamin (actor/director); Diane Warren (songwriter); and Sherry Lansing (former CEO of Paramount Pictures) among many others.

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Anti-LGBTQ incidents in Israel increased by 27% in 2020, a report published Monday by The Aguda, the country's LGBTQ task force, revealed. According to the annual report, the organization recorded 2,696 complaints last year.

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Some 25% of these incidents occurred close to the complainant's home, compared to 8% in 2019. Some 28% of such incidents happened within the family; 315 young men and women were forced to flee their homes due to constant harassment and abuse, a 16% uptick from 2019.

The transition to remote schooling was not smooth for the LGBTQ community either. Seven percent of complainants were students who reported abuse and mockery in school, both online and in class, compared to 5% in 2019.

Some 4% of the incidents occurred at the workplace, compared to 3% in 2019.

"My coworkers turned me into a joke, constantly making fun of my sexual orientation behind my back. It includes insults, mimicry, and explicit mentions of my sexuality in front of coworkers and customers," one complainant wrote.

"Hatred of the LGBTQ community has reached new heights this year, as it is gaining legitimacy from the country's top officials," CEO of The Aguda Ohad Hizki said. "Such hatred destroys and harms the body and soul of these young men and women who are merely seeking to live true to who they are.

"While the Israeli government has abandoned the proud community by not granting us fundamental rights and ensuring our safety, hatred is rampant, and elected officials across the entire political spectrum must put an end to it soon.

"As a strong community, we will continue to fight LGBTQ phobia until it is completely eradicated," the CEO said.

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Speaking at Kisse Rahamim Saturday night, Mazuz said, "The Pride Parade is a parade against nature, and whoever acts against nature, He who created nature will avenge him. When you do things against nature, you are sticking your hand in the fire and praying that the fire will not burn you. It will burn you! Here they have the insolence to revolt against nature, the Pride Parade, what are you proud of?"

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Mazuz continued, saying: "All the countries that have this [evil] are all [suffering from the coronavirus] except for the Arab states that do not have this evil inclination, this thing, and aren't suffering from this disease."

"They say that in Tunisia there's just one person who's been diagnosed with the coronavirus, and none in the rest of the Arab world, except Iran where people have bad character traits and are horrible Israel haters. [Arabs] avoid eating dangerous things (unkosher food) and being like us," Mazuz claimed.

In 2015, Mazuz claimed gay pride parades and other forms of "sinful behavior" were the reason terrorists murdered Eitam and Naama Henkin.

At a memorial event for the Henkins, Mazuz said their shooting death at the hands of Palestinian terrorists had been a form of divine retribution.

In 2016, Mazuz attributed the collapse of a Tel Aviv parking garage that killed six people and an explosion that destroyed the Amos-6 satellite to the desecration of Shabbat.

The Anti-Defamation League's Israel branch said on Facebook on Sunday in response to Mazuz's statements: "It is very regrettable and unfortunate that in the moments that the entire world is united in order to eradicate the coronavirus, Rabbi Mazuz finds it correct to blame the LGBTQ community, and to treat members [of the community] as if they were responsible for the outbreak of the disease. We strongly condemn these words and call on the rabbi to apologize."

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