MK (Ra’am – Ta’al) Dr. Ahmed Tibi was forcibly removed from the Knesset podium on Wednesday after he refused to adhere to the instructions of Deputy Knesset Speaker Carmel Shama, who ordered him to leave the plenum session. Two ushers had to literally come to the podium and take him by the arms to remove him during his address.

When the deputy speaker signaled Tibi, who was speaking about the recent Israeli Arab delegation that traveled to Libya, meeting with Muammar Kaddafi, informing him that his time had run out, Tibi brazenly responded “My time will be up when G-d decides”. An exchange of words followed, with Tibi insisting he was not done speaking. He accused Shama of “terrorizing me” to which the deputy speaker stated “The terror does not usually come from our side”.

Adding to the ordeal, MK (Yisrael Beitenu) Alex Miller began making his way to the podium, met with a shout by Tibi “Look, they have sent someone from the [right-wing] Yisrael Beitenu party to take me down.

Tibi spoke of the visit to Libya, using it to highlight the discrimination against Arabs in Israel, stating there are 40 laws against Arabs in Israel today.

The visit to Libya has led to calls to Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, led by MK (Ichud HaLeumi) Dr. Michael Ben-Ari, who asked Rivlin not to miss this “historic opportunity to put the Arab MKs in their place,” referring to them as “traitors” and those “who spit on Israel”. Rivlin explained that the law does not permit him any latitude in this case, and he is compelled to refer the travel of MKs to a hostile nation to the Knesset committee to decide if the MKs involved will be stripped of their parliamentary immunity – clearing the way for possible criminal charges against them. The committee is expected to convene in the coming days.

In response to Ben-Ari, Rivlin rejected the use of the harsh terms such as “traitor” against the MKs, explaining they have not been charged or convicted of any crimes.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)