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A disturbing recording of Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich describing himself as a “fascist homophobe” has been leaked by the country’s public broadcaster Kan.

The recording features the finance minister and deputy speaker of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament), Smotrich, outing himself as a “fascist homophobe” while adding that he “won’t stone gays.”

In the recording where he is discussing a businessman, the 42-year-old says, “A Sephardi [traditional Jew], do you think he [the businessman being discussed] cares about gays? He couldn’t care less.”

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“I’m a fascist homophobe, but I’m a man of my word,” he adds. “I won’t stone gays, and you won’t feed me shrimp.”

Smotrich, the head of the far-right Religious Zionism party, was also recorded claiming that his supporters would back him and his position because he was the only person who “didn’t cooperate with the United Arab List and is safeguarding the land of Israel.”

 

Smotrich’s homophobic comments have since caused discourse and concern within Israel’s government, including Former prime minister and leader of the opposition, Yair Lapid, who added, “This reminds us how weak prime minister Netanyahu is and how dangerous it is that he’s kept captive by extremists.”

“It’s not a question of left or right … The major question is whether you love your fellow man or hate him.”

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