A prominent Modern Orthodox rabbi in Israel issued a religious ruling against the use of gay conversion therapy on Sunday, lambasting spiritual leaders who claim the practice can be effective and warning that it can have severe, long-term consequences.

“This treatment, according to competent evidence, is not effective at all. It can cause great, physical and psychological suffering, even long-term consequences of severe damage,” rabbi and professor Daniel Sperber wrote in a response to a query from the Israel Society for Sex Therapy.

The religious ruling came as LGBT rights groups across the country were gearing for mass protest rallies in several large cities on Sunday that will take the place of the traditional pride parade celebrations that have been canceled due to concerns relating to the coronavirus. The position paper also came just a year after Israel’s education minister purported to have carried out the practice before walking back his comments amid criticism from across the political spectrum. Read more via Times of Israel