The Ministerial Committee on Legislation on Sunday struck down a bill prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender or sexual identity.

The bill was rejected by a large majority, despite many of the ministers being on record as supporting the LGBT community and a number having attended the Gay Pride parade in Tel Aviv last Friday.

Many of the Likud ministers who voted to strike the bill voted in favor of a similar proposal during the last Knesset. That effort was defeated in committee by Habayit Hayehudi and Yesh Atid.

The bill was submitted to the Knesset last week by MK Michal Rozin (Meretz) as an amendment to the Equal Employment Opportunities Law. All legislation has to be approved by the ministerial committee before it can go to the Knesset.

"The committee voted in favor of continued discrimination against the LGBT community," said MK Ofer Shelach (Yesh Atid.) "Not even something as simple as extending the legal prohibition against discrimination to gender preference and identity could not make it through the darkness that is the present government."

Of the Likud majority in the committee, only Gender Equality Minister Gila Gamliel voted against the bill.