Israel’s Education Minister has apologized for offending gay families, after a comment saying same-sex couples are not proper families.

On 26 June, Shai Piron made the comments in an interview with news website INN.

‘I think it’s a Jewish state’s right, maybe even its duty, to say to same-sex couples who decide to live their lives together—that’s not a family,’ he said.

Due to a backlash from Israel’s LGBTI community, Piron backtracked on his statements.

Piron took to his Facebook account to qualify his stance on the gay community.

‘You can disagree with the wording of words, yet it reflects the reality in Israel and the difficulties of the religious community with changes in family structure. Every day I try to build a bridge between groups and communities, the first phase of the bridge is to accept and understand. I believe wholeheartedly that allow couples to anyone! I apologize if my words were understood incorrectly,’ he wrote.

Facebook users reacted by posting pictures of their same-sex families on his page asking him: ‘Dear education minister, what does this look like if not a family?’

Still feeling like he had to apologize more, Piron spoke to reporters on the Channel Ten morning news segment.

‘I am grievously convinced that such remarks are contemptible. It is not up to me to decide what a family is and what is not,’ he said.

‘What bothered me most were the children and adults I offended, and today I am looking them in the eye and saying, I am truly sorry.’

Piron said by talking about the issues relating to Israel’s LGBTI community he is doing what other leaders will not do.

However, some groups are calling for his resignation, saying his comments were unacceptable reports the Israel Hayom.

‘Just as an LGBT person is a person, and an LGBT citizen is a citizen, so too is an LGBT family a family, and an LGBT couple a couple, and an LGBT parent a parent,’ said Shai Doitsh, Israeli National LGBT Task Force Chairperson.

‘Given his remarks, it’s clear that Piron isn’t the type to be entrusted with educating our children and teenagers, among them LGBT youth and the children of LGBT parents and families.’

