The Knesset will vote this Monday afternoon on the ouster of Hadash-Ta’al chairman Ayman Odeh. The ouster will require the consent of at least 90 Knesset members. Hadash said this morning, “We are going to the Knesset to protest against the ouster of MK Odeh. The attempted ouster constitutes crossing a fundamental red line of democracy, in which the majority silences the minority and expels it from the House of Representatives, even though the public elected it.” It should be noted that the demonstration is expected in front of the Mishkan at 5:30 p.m.
The fight against Odeh’s removal from the Knesset received reinforcement overseas last night. Three opponents of the removal, including two senior senators from the US Democratic Party – Peter Walsh and Chris Van Hollen, as well as independent Senator Bernie Sanders – issued a strong statement expressing opposition to the move. “We strongly condemn the effort to remove MK Ayman Odeh from the Knesset,” the senators wrote. According to them, “Democracy is under attack all over the world. If Israel wants to be called a democracy – it must tolerate peaceful opposition.”
In their statement, the senators noted that Odeh “has been leading the fight for peace, justice, and Jewish-Arab partnership for more than a decade.” According to them, the attempted impeachment “is a direct response to his courageous call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, an end to the occupation, and a political solution between Israelis and Palestinians.” The German Bundestag’s Vice President, Budo Ramlo, and the joint secretary general of the left-wing party “Die Linke,” also sent a public letter of support to MK Odeh yesterday, along with 20 other members of parliament from their party, in an unequivocal call to stop the impeachment process being conducted against him in the Knesset. “We call on all members of the Knesset,” they cried, “not to become partners in an anti-democratic move. Reject the proposal to impeach MK Odeh.” Additionally, French Senator Yann Brossette, Deputy Mayor of Paris and spokesman for the Communist Party, issued a statement of support for MK Odeh on behalf of the Communist factions in Parliament and the Senate.
Those opposed to the impeachment were joined by the heads of Arab local authorities and members of the Arab Local Authorities Committee, who called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the impeachment process. “Even if there are differences of opinion, it is the government’s duty to allow freedom of expression and to preserve the right of elected officials to represent their constituents,” they state in a letter they sent to Netanyahu. “This is a vindictive move led by an extremist government headed by you, and a dangerous political move that undermines the legitimacy and democratic right of Arab citizens to vote and be elected, to take part in the democratic space, and to hold a free and fair public debate.”
Meanwhile, in an editorial published today in the Haaretz newspaper, it was stated, “Odeh must be protected — the symbol of compromise, coexistence, and the pursuit of peace — who is being attacked because of his moderation, which is the basis of his political power. But defending him now is also defending democracy and the right of minorities to choose and be elected and to express themselves freely. It is clear that now it is Odeh, followed by the Arab Knesset members, and after them anyone who does not swear allegiance to the coalition. Odeh’s dismissal is just an attempt to create a precedent for an entire program of political cleansing.”
According to the newspaper, the support of members of the center parties, including opposition leader Yair Lapid, for the impeachment “is particularly worrying. This support indicates a loss of political direction from those who claim to be a counterforce to the processes of nationalist and anti-democratic radicalization in Israeli society. How will they succeed in the task when they are cooperating with such a predatory move, of a majority against a minority? Members of the center parties must come to their senses, put aside all kinds of strategic electoral calculations, which have not proven themselves anyway, and do the right thing: stop this forceful and destructive move. What is at stake is too important to see in it an opportunity for short-term political branding. If the future, and not just “there is a future,” is before Lapid’s eyes, he must not lend a hand to this dismissal.” “Any Knesset member who lends his hand to the despicable move of ousting Odeh will be recorded as someone who was an active partner in the crushing of Israeli democracy,” the newspaper emphasized.
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