Joint List MK Dov Khenin (Hadash) issued a statement on Sunday, June 12, offering his condolences to the bereaved family and friends of those killed in the Orlando nightclub shooting in the early hours of Sunday morning (US Eastern Daylight Time), the deadliest mass shooting in US history. “Dozens were shot dead in a nightclub for the LGBT community in Orlando in the United States. The details are still not clear, but reports indicate it was probably a hate crime,” Khenin said. He invoked previous hate crimes that have occurred in Israel against the LGBT community, stressing his connection to the events.
Vigil in Jerusalem on Sunday night in solidarity with Orlando massacre victims (Photo: HaBayit HaPatuach)
“I remember the night in August 2009, when a murder occurred at a gay youth center in Tel-Aviv, which took the lives of Nir Katz and Liz Trubishi. I arrived at the location and took part in a vigil on the streets of Tel Aviv. I also recall last year’s gay pride parade in Jerusalem, which I attended, where Shira Banki was shot and killed by a violent homophobe,” he said. “I’ve never been to Orlando, but it sounds the same, it looks the same, the grief is the same, and the anger is the same.” Khenin ended his statement with a call to action to protect LGBT rights. “We still have a long road ahead of us to achieve equality for all… Each of us has a responsibility to fight such dark trends.”
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