The Knesset “cleaned its table” Tuesday, the second-to-last day of its winter session, voting bills on various topics. One of the new laws passed makes it illegal for schools to discriminate against pupils because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Hadash affiliated Red-Pink Movement in a demonstration for LGTB rights (Photo: Red-Pink Movement)

MK Dov Khenin (Hadash), who proposed the bill, pointed out that it is the first bill to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. “Because of their sexual preferences, LGBT pupils are often a target for bullying and humiliation by students and even by faculty,” Israeli National LGBT Task Force spokesman Gil Kol said, mentioning an example of a girl that was not permitted to hang up a drawing encouraging equality for gays and was ridiculed by her classmates. “This law will prevent similar incidents – and even worse ones of physical violence – and will anchor LGBT students’ rights and require educational institutions to treat them equally,” Kol added.