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Shas MK Shlomo Benizri. (BauBau Archives)
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Last update - 00:00 20/02/2008
Shas MK blames gays for recent earthquakes in the region
By Shahar Ilan, Haaretz Correspondent, and The Associated Press
Tags: Shas, Israel, gays 

Shas MK Shlomo Benizri blamed gays Wednesday for the earthquakes that have shaken the region in recent months, telling a Knesset plenum debate on local authorities' earthquake preparedness that government action on homosexuality would do much to prevent the tremors.

Benizri said the government should not make do with reinforcing buildings, but should instead pass less legislation that encourages homosexuality and other "perversions like adoptions by lesbian couples."

The ultra-Orthodox party MK invoked passages from the Talmud and the Gemarrah to support his claims.
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"Why do earthquakes happen?" said Benizri. "One of the reasons is the things to which the Knesset gives legitimacy, to sodomy."

"A cost-effective way of averting earthquake damage," he added, "would be to stop passing legislation on how to encourage homosexual activity in the State of Israel, which anyways causes earthquakes."

Mike Hammel, who chairs Israel's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Association said in response that "religious MKs are apparently competing to see who can disparage [the gay] community more."

"This is a sad competition that shows how dark Shas MKs are," he said.

"On one had, it is said that a religious MK doesn't believe that earthquakes are caused by God," he added. "On the other hand, it is flattering that he attributes supernatural powers to us."

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      1.   life is rough...blame the gays 18:07  |  21st century guy 20/02/08
      2.   Earthquake in Indonesia 18:08  |  Avrum 20/02/08
      3.   Religious Scum 18:12  |  Albert 20/02/08
      4.   Embarrassing 18:14  |  Ilan 20/02/08
      5.   We don`t hate these people... 18:14  |  Dave 20/02/08
      6.   seems reasonable, right? 18:14  |  kavu 20/02/08
      7.   Gays Blamed for Earthquakes 18:18  |  Maurice Zaslawsky 20/02/08
      8.   Dave #5 18:22  |  alan 20/02/08
      9.   Get The Rabbis Out Of Office 18:23  |  Yosemite 20/02/08
      10.   Oh the stupidity-can we stop it already? 18:24  |  jewish gal 20/02/08
      11.   Well he has a point... 18:25  |  SMART JEW 20/02/08
      12.   this is actually kind of funny 18:28  |  elan 20/02/08
      13.   As I said 18:28  |  Paul Wood 20/02/08
      14.   #4 Ilan 18:31  |  Paul Wood 20/02/08
      15.   to ilan from rehovot 18:33  |  amihai 20/02/08
      16.   We have our Ahmadinejads 18:34  |  Joe 20/02/08
      17.   Earthquakes cased by Gays ?? 18:35  |  JS 20/02/08
      18.   poor benizri 18:38  |  nenkita 20/02/08
      19.   To SMART JEW (#11) 18:44  |  Machiavelli Spinoza 20/02/08
      20.   4 Ilan. Same embarassing feeling here. Shas is too busy... 18:44  |  bat yam 20/02/08
      21.   don`t need medicine either 18:47  |  Paul Freedman 20/02/08
      22.   That`s ignorant 18:49  |  Gili 20/02/08
      23.   Prosecute 18:53  |  Alex 20/02/08
      24.   some history 18:54  |  a jew 20/02/08
      25.   and we this kind of leaders? 18:55  |  ilan 20/02/08
      26.   the problem is that you think ur smart , smart jew.# 11 18:56  |  Gabriel 20/02/08
      27.   SMART JEW: Where was God`s hands during the holocaust? 18:58  |  secular Jew 20/02/08
      28.   For someone who claims to see G-d`s hand... 18:58  |  Chaim 20/02/08
      29.   pillow 18:59  |  hans 20/02/08
      30.   dinosaurs are in extincts ...this is why? BENIZRI. 18:59  |  Gabriel 20/02/08
      31.   Homosexuality 19:00  |  Joe 20/02/08
      32.   Shas MK blames gays for recent earthquakes in the region 19:02  |  Michael 20/02/08
      33.   Should we call them Shastan 19:04  |  Joe 20/02/08
      34.   And I thought it was because of corruption in government 19:04  |  allan 20/02/08
      35.   # 14 There is a very good reason why Iceland is called 19:07  |  Kris 20/02/08
      36.   Shas-wake up and read the Torah 19:11  |  allan 20/02/08
      37.   Back to the Bronze Age. 19:13  |  Michael 20/02/08
      38.   Politics and Religion 19:13  |  Sam 20/02/08
      39.   You let guys like this in the Knesset???? 19:17  |  Michael 20/02/08
      40.   Our leadership 19:20  |  embarrassed jew 20/02/08
      41.   About Gays 19:21  |  Eli Goldberg 20/02/08
      42.   Duh the Rabbis Right! 19:23  |  Marvin S. 20/02/08
      43.   Gays not only rock the bed, they rock the earth 19:25  |  Sam 20/02/08
      44.   As a Gay I`m Am Not So Super About What He Said. 19:28  |  Tooty 20/02/08
      45.   Shas: Hard Working Believers 19:29  |  Yechiel 20/02/08
      46.   He is quoting the Gemara, why not check? 19:30  |  S. Judah 20/02/08
      47.   Shas MK blames gays for recent earthquakes in the region 19:32  |  Paul 20/02/08
      48.   Heichal Hashem 19:35  |  Benzion and Shmulik 20/02/08
      49.   Religion is the real cancer of Israel 19:36  |  Stas 20/02/08
      50.   Benizri may have forgotten his gay days... 19:39  |  TEA 20/02/08
      51.   No quakes in Iran 19:40  |  tomi 20/02/08
      52.   Teaching Equations / Maths to Shas students 19:44  |  Dangalil 20/02/08
      53.   hahahahahahaha 19:51  |  JB 20/02/08
      54.   hahahahahahaha 19:51  |  JB 20/02/08
      55.   Earthquakes caused by Shas 19:54  |  Jon 20/02/08
      56.   Mormons to blame for tsunamis 19:56  |  Truethat 20/02/08
      57.   SHAS THE PARTY OF SHMUXS 20:03  |  Iskander 20/02/08
      58.   gays are encouraged 20:07  |  jorge luis 20/02/08
      59.   Actually 20:08  |  B. 20/02/08
      60.   He`s my brother? 20:09  |  Simon 20/02/08
      61.   THE JEWS & THE GAYS 20:16  |  Ernest Greafenberg 20/02/08
      62.   only in israel 20:20  |  michael 20/02/08
      63.   (#11), According to Plato, the best army is an army of lovers. 20:23  |  christoph 20/02/08
      64.   such nonsense 20:25  |  gawain 20/02/08
      65.   Natural disasters 20:27  |  Shloimele 20/02/08
      66.   earthquake in morocco 20:29  |  shimon 20/02/08
      67.   Permitting stupidity on a State level 20:36  |  K-Y for the morose 20/02/08
      68.   Mishkav Zakhar 20:42  |  JoeyJoeJoe 20/02/08
      69.   looooooooooooool 20:48  |  tom 20/02/08
      70.   Jerusalem 20:48  |  Motic 20/02/08
      71.   God is Clear on Homosexuality 20:52  |  Yechiel 20/02/08
      72.   HOW TO KEEP ISRAEL SAFE 20:53  |  whizbang 20/02/08
      73.   If that is true, my country is in for the biggest disaster ever 20:58  |  Mark B. 20/02/08
      74.   The Approaching Political Earthquake 21:00  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 20/02/08
      75.   Shame on Benizri/Shas. These hypocrites should instead leave this 21:03  |  1more embarrased Jew 20/02/08
      76.   When it comes to earthquakes, Iran is safer than Zionist entity - 21:06  |  Achmenijad of Iran 20/02/08
      77.   Who here thinks he sounds like Ahmadinejad? 21:15  |  Global Citizen 20/02/08
      78.   YECHIEL ONE POINT. 21:20  |  Gabriel 20/02/08
      79.   Yechiel, Don`t Be So Limited! 21:26  |  Brad 20/02/08
      80.   I refuse to take responsibility 21:33  |  Yaakov Sullivan 20/02/08
      81.   And we`re paying this moron`s salary???? 21:37  |  Miri 20/02/08
      82.   The Answer to Most Mockers 21:37  |  Simeon 20/02/08
      83.   Shas body and soul 21:38  |  Dennis Slapo 20/02/08
      84.   Gays have special powers? 21:50  |  Danny SoneDat 20/02/08
      85.   All Religions are stone age retarded, period 21:51  |  Hypocricy Monitor 20/02/08
      86.   #16 HAVE A LAUGH,JOE. 21:52  |  Ian 20/02/08
      87.   we aint going to 22:13  |  SAM EL LLANITO 20/02/08
      88.   #9 22:16  |  Yasir 20/02/08
      89.   And This Guy Is An MK ??????? 22:17  |  B`Galil 20/02/08
      90.   Another idea 22:20  |  Jackie 20/02/08
      91.   He`s no better than the hysterical ranting mullahs 22:29  |  Nemesis 20/02/08
      92.   # 9 Yosemite 22:36  |  Jim 20/02/08
      93.   Maybe the gays can help to shake Iran a little bit 22:38  |  Voodoo 20/02/08
      94.   Shasmaniacs 22:39  |  Douglas Fireman 20/02/08
      95.   And this ignoramus is an MK... 22:56  |  Esther 20/02/08
      96.   Benizri is quite a dandy - does that explain his obsession? 23:08  |  David 20/02/08
      97.   Is benizri gay 23:14  |  Miche Norman 20/02/08
      98.   Yechiel -- G-d is anything but clear on this 23:19  |  bbl 20/02/08
      99.   Didn`t the Nazis gas the Homosexuals as well? 23:21  |  Chris Linthwaite 20/02/08
      100.   All kidding aside.... 23:25  |  Avrum 20/02/08
      101.   Comment on #63 Plato`s Symposium 23:35  |  Motic 20/02/08
      102.   #62 Michael you`re right - Shas makes the Taleban look civilized! 23:39  |  A Jew 20/02/08
      103.   Earthquake because Shas not going out of Government 23:41  |  Mark 20/02/08
      104.   Poor fellow... 23:48  |  Maureen Ann 20/02/08
      105.   Qualified hate speech??? 23:50  |  Ariel 20/02/08
      106.   Ambiguous messages from G-d 23:55  |  Jeff Moses 20/02/08
      107.   We are proud gays and don`t need recognition from rabbis 23:57  |  Yaakov Sullivan 20/02/08
      108.   Joe, I hope one of those days gay like me can become a president 23:58  |  Yaakov Sullivan 20/02/08
      109.   #77 Global Citizen 00:04  |  Jim 21/02/08
      110.   I am ashamed 00:06  |  ChanahS 21/02/08
      111.   Please, SMART JEW (11) just become HUMAN. To become human 00:25  |  Karl 21/02/08
      112.   typical mid-eastern fanatism 00:34  |  j 21/02/08
      113.   Now I fully understand why Mahmoud is so after Iranian´s gays... 00:50  |  Karl 21/02/08
      114.   Let`s declare independance 00:59  |  Tired taxpayer 21/02/08
      115.   #27 secular jew 01:02  |  a jew 21/02/08
      116.   An Earthquake is Good for the Religious people, isn`t it? 01:05  |  Gil 21/02/08
      117.   An Earthquake is Good for the Religious people, isn`t it? 01:07  |  Gil 21/02/08
      118.   I blame Shas for the earthquake and HIV... so easy being ignorant 01:08  |  anti-racist 21/02/08
      119.   A Jewish-Muslim Interaction 01:19  |  st. helen 21/02/08
      120.   Clowns to the left of me, bigots to the right 01:59  |  Machiavelli Spinoza 21/02/08
      121.   Plz don`t blame us alone for lunatic screw-ups! 02:07  |  Sharif Hafez 21/02/08
      122.   Does anyone know the definition of psychopath? 02:15  |  Mark Lincoln 21/02/08
      123.   Chris Lintwaite - and where is the difference 02:16  |  Mark Lincoln 21/02/08
      124.   Maureen Ann - on Carol King 02:18  |  Mark Lincoln 21/02/08
      125.   MORON!! since when has he become the temporal spokesman? 02:20  |  PETER SM 21/02/08
      126.   Avrum from Montreal - too true 02:20  |  Mark Lincoln 21/02/08
      127.   Secular Jews who are bleeding & don`t know it. 03:30  |  Shimon 21/02/08
      128.   Gay behavior is nurture not nature!!!! 08:24  |  Ralph X - Gay 21/02/08
      129.   Shas MKs have sick minds 08:57  |  Daniel 21/02/08
      130.   Did the earth move for you? 12:36  |  Michael 21/02/08
      131.   Religious bigotry never ends. 12:49  |  Michael 21/02/08
      132.   EARTHQUAKE?SHAS SUPPORT GOVT THAT LETS SDEROT CHILDREN BE BOMBED! 13:56  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 21/02/08
      133.   Ralph`s `nurture not nature` #128... 15:42  |  Chaim69 21/02/08
      134.   Bronze Age? 15:48  |  Avi Yerushalmi 21/02/08
      135.   Hypocracy! 16:02  |  Rex 21/02/08
      136.   Gays cause earthquakes 16:05  |  Ron Torgerson 21/02/08
      137.   Remember your past sir! 16:06  |  John 21/02/08
      138.   To Ralph - exGay 16:50  |  Jeff Moses 21/02/08
      139.   Ralph ex -gay and his anti gay propoganda 17:14  |  Yaakov Sullivan 21/02/08
      140.   Gay culture is humanism itself and contribute to our civilization 18:29  |  Yaakov Sullivan 21/02/08
      141.   These People Are Insane 18:34  |  MIKE 21/02/08
      142.   Reassuring Iran and Arab states 18:38  |  DJStahl 21/02/08
      143.   Israeli gays are pure occupying settlers, even in TA 18:49  |  Nur 21/02/08
      144.   TO # 27 Secular Jew HOLOCAUST ANSWER 20:04  |  SMART JEW 21/02/08
      145.   TO #63 According to Plato 20:12  |  SMART JEW 21/02/08
      146.   gays make the earth move???? 20:24  |  joseph theeboom 21/02/08
      147.   Rabbi Ben-Nizri 21:02  |  Avi Yerushalmi 21/02/08
      148.   Wrong conclusion on who is to blame 21:17  |  Winnipeger 21/02/08
      149.   Re #144 sources, etc. 22:09  |  DJStahl 21/02/08
      150.   #27 Secular Jew; G-D was in the prophecy of Isaiah 3 22:47  |  AliciaYasmeen 21/02/08
      151.   re #144 "sources" 23:05  |  SMART JEW 21/02/08
      152.   and i thought it was me! 23:10  |  Mira 21/02/08
      153.   Re #151 "Anything else?" 23:29  |  DJStahl 21/02/08
      154.   Earthquakes 00:14  |  Dror 22/02/08
      155.   Ignoring the Gemara = cutting the wire to the generator light 03:00  |  Yaakov 22/02/08
      156.   OH PLEASE 08:42  |  Mark 22/02/08
      157.   Re #156 re religion 09:41  |  DJStahl 22/02/08
      158.   I must be living in the wrong part of the world 22:44  |  Jeff 22/02/08
      159.   The Shas theory of erthquakes 00:28  |  ABBAEIS 23/02/08
      160.   A WHOLE LOT O` SHAKIN GOING ON 13:52  |  Petra 23/02/08
      161.   MY SINS BETTER THAN YOUR SIN 14:04  |  Petra 23/02/08
      162.   Bleeding 127? 04:48  |  B. 24/02/08
      163.   Response to #16: That`s your way of saying thank you to G-d? 22:03  |  Shimon 24/02/08
      164.   He and Rosie should get together 03:16  |  Mantris 25/02/08
      165.   But then you people believe.... 04:49  |  Bertha 25/02/08
      166.   Israel`s has Perfected Earthquake technology 07:37  |  The Archives 27/02/08
      167.   SHAS is a true evil idioligy 08:37  |  SJ 27/02/08
      168.   Another sentence..... 10:00  |  Marc 27/02/08
      169.   Ultra-orthodox`s hurt Israel`s image abroad 07:27  |  huang 18/05/08
      170.   jewish imbiciles 12:32  |  joseph theeboom 28/05/08
      171.   shoa did more good than bad????? 13:06  |  joseph theeboom 28/05/08
      172.   Well, these guys are really making friends! 11:10  |  Tom Lobo Meyer 24/06/09
      173.   It`s okay to steal, not to be gay? 11:11  |  Tom Lobo Meyer 24/06/09
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