TEL AVIV, Israel — Hundreds of Israeli LGBT advocates and their supporters are on strike, protesting the exclusion of gay men from a recently passed surrogacy law.
Protesters marched in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities on Sunday, waving rainbow flags and briefly blocking a major highway.
The community is outraged that after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to pass legislation supporting surrogacy for gay fathers. He then voted against it, apparently under pressure from his ultra-Orthodox Jewish coalition partners.
The protest has grown into a general call for equality, following other recent controversial legislation that appeared to target Israeli liberalism.
The protest has generated widespread support and hundreds of employers said they would allow employees to observe the strike without penalty.
A major rally in Rabin Square is scheduled later in the day.
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