One in four young gay Israelis bashed: report

One in four young Israelis were attacked last year because they were gay, according to a report presented to the country’s legislators this week.

And 64 percent of respondents said they had experienced homphobic verbal abuse, often from teachers, the survey said, 365Gay.com reported.

The survey, prepared for Israeli LGBT organisation Proud Youth, also found only a quarter of respondents felt comfortable talking about their sexuality with teachers, according to 365Gay.com.

Proud Youth director Yaniv Weizman said Israeli’s education system was behind general society in its tolerance.

He called on the Israeli government to make schools safer for young LGBT people.

Meanwhile, a coalition of Jewish groups in the US state of Washington has said it will support a gay and lesbian civil rights bill.

A similar bill failed by one vote to pass the Washington state senate last month, 365Gay.com reported.

Leaders of the Jewish coalition said they wanted to promote justice and equality for all.