Tel Aviv gay shooting: Israeli minister forms emergency committee
Issac Herzog, the Israeli minister for welfare and social services, said yesterday he would form an emergency committee to meet the needs of LGBT people following a shooting at a gay centre.
On Saturday, two people were killed and 15 were injured when a gunman opened fire on the venue in Tel Aviv. One of those killed, teenager Liz Troubishi, was straight, her family and friends said.
A press statement released by Herzog on Monday said: “Saturday night’s shooting of gay teenagers was an attack on our entire society and it demands that we immediately find a way to provide treatment to the entire community.”
According to the Jerusalem Post, he sent social workers to meet gay community leaders immediately after the shooting.
Herzog added that ministry director general Nachum Itzkovitz would lead an investigation into what can be done to help the community deal with the tragedy in the long term.
His statement came on the same day his ministry released data suggesting that half of gay and bisexual teenagers in Israel have been a victim of physical or sexual abuse.
The research also showed that 80 per cent had suffered verbal abuse because of their sexual orientation.
