<p>Former minister Amir Ohana was elected as Israel's first openly gay Speaker of parliament on Thursday, ahead of the swearing-in of the new government.</p>.<p>An MP since 2015, the member of incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party was elected with 63 votes in favour, five against and one abstention during a parliamentary vote.</p>.<p>He is the third most senior figure after the president and prime minister, according to the country's Constitution.</p>.<p>In 2019, he became the first gay man to hold a ministerial post when he was selected as Netanyahu's justice minister.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/benjamin-netanyahu-sworn-in-as-israels-new-prime-minister-1176301.html"><strong>Also read: Benjamin Netanyahu sworn-in as Israel's new Prime Minister</strong></a></p>.<p>A coalition agreement between Netanyahu's Likud and Avi Maoz, the leader of the anti-LGBTQ Noam party, shocked Israel's gay community.</p>.<p>According to the agreement, Maoz will be appointed deputy minister in charge of "Jewish identity".</p>.<p>Maoz vowed to "study the legal avenues to cancel Gay Pride", he told Israeli radio after the elections, as he joined the far-right formation Religious Zionism.</p>.<p>The US ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, recently pledged to judge the government "on its actions rather than on the declarations of certain politicians in the campaign".</p>.<p>"I've been to gay pride, I've marched in Jerusalem, I've marched in Tel Aviv and I plan to march again. There's no doubt in my mind that there will be another gay pride in Jerusalem," Nides told Israeli newspaper Haaretz.</p>.<p>Israel is more progressive on LGBTQ rights than many of its Middle East neighbours and recognises the marriages of same-sex couples who wed abroad.</p>.<p>The outgoing coalition government passed legislation banning so-called "gay conversion therapy" and granting surrogacy rights to all.</p>
<p>Former minister Amir Ohana was elected as Israel's first openly gay Speaker of parliament on Thursday, ahead of the swearing-in of the new government.</p>.<p>An MP since 2015, the member of incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party was elected with 63 votes in favour, five against and one abstention during a parliamentary vote.</p>.<p>He is the third most senior figure after the president and prime minister, according to the country's Constitution.</p>.<p>In 2019, he became the first gay man to hold a ministerial post when he was selected as Netanyahu's justice minister.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/benjamin-netanyahu-sworn-in-as-israels-new-prime-minister-1176301.html"><strong>Also read: Benjamin Netanyahu sworn-in as Israel's new Prime Minister</strong></a></p>.<p>A coalition agreement between Netanyahu's Likud and Avi Maoz, the leader of the anti-LGBTQ Noam party, shocked Israel's gay community.</p>.<p>According to the agreement, Maoz will be appointed deputy minister in charge of "Jewish identity".</p>.<p>Maoz vowed to "study the legal avenues to cancel Gay Pride", he told Israeli radio after the elections, as he joined the far-right formation Religious Zionism.</p>.<p>The US ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, recently pledged to judge the government "on its actions rather than on the declarations of certain politicians in the campaign".</p>.<p>"I've been to gay pride, I've marched in Jerusalem, I've marched in Tel Aviv and I plan to march again. There's no doubt in my mind that there will be another gay pride in Jerusalem," Nides told Israeli newspaper Haaretz.</p>.<p>Israel is more progressive on LGBTQ rights than many of its Middle East neighbours and recognises the marriages of same-sex couples who wed abroad.</p>.<p>The outgoing coalition government passed legislation banning so-called "gay conversion therapy" and granting surrogacy rights to all.</p>