Israel Minister Education Minister Rafi Peretz has said he does not support conversion therapy, backpedaling after comments he made during a local news interview led to hundreds taking to the streets in protest, as well as condemnation from politicians and educators.

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak attends a rally against Peretz's remarks on gay conversion therapy.

"I think it's possible," Peretz, an orthodox rabbi, told Israel's Channel 12 over the weekend of the debunked and dangerous practice, which attempts to change one's sexual orientation or gender identity.

"I can tell you that I have a deep knowledge of education, and I have done it too," he said, describing a situation in which a young man told him he was gay, and Peretz said he helped the student to "understand himself well and then decide on his own."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement saying he had spoken to Peretz and that he had "clarified his remarks and stressed the Israeli education system will continue to accept all of Israel’s children as they are."

"The education minister’s remarks about the gay community are not acceptable and do not reflect the stance of the government I head," he added.

Education Minister Rafi Peretz

On Tuesday, Peretz's message was markedly different. He sent a letter to school principals in which he called conversion therapy "illegitimate and severe," The Jerusalem Post reports.

He said he had been approached by a number of students over the years about their sexual orientation and that he "always listened intently to their distress and on occasion recommended they consult with professionals."

"However, I never gave them a cold shoulder or advised them to do conversion therapy to which I am strongly opposed," he said, calling the practice "intrusive" and saying it "creates more suffering than help and can even endanger a person’s life through [potential] suicide that can be prevented."

A survey released earlier this year showed one in five LGB British people who had gone through conversion therapy went on to attempt suicide.