Racist Liberman Slams Hadash MK for Attending Arafat Memorial

Israel’s racist, settler, Minister of Defense, Avigdor Liberman, condemned Joint List chairman, MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash), on Thursday November 10, for taking part in a memorial ceremony for Yasser Arafat in Ramallah, after Odeh had boycotted the funeral of former president Shimon Peres last month.  Liberman said he would pursue efforts to oust Odeh from the Knesset, suggesting that the Arab lawmaker should rather be “a member of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.”

MK Ayman Odeh addresses the participants of the memorial ceremony for Yasser Arafat in Ramallah

MK Ayman Odeh addresses the participants of the memorial ceremony for Yasser Arafat in Ramallah (Footage: Palestinian TV)

The threat against Odeh appears to be a public relations ploy, as Liberman, head of the far-right Yisrael Beytenu party, has no legal means for actually carrying it out. The fascist defense minister has been leading a boycott of the Joint List since the Peres funeral last month.

Last week, MKs from the six parties in the far-right coalition staged a walkout during each plenary speech made by Joint List lawmakers as a protest over their funeral boycott. Liberman called the Joint List MKs “representatives of terror groups in the Israeli government” who are “not legitimate [and] not wanted here.” MK Odeh later told Joint List Knesset members at a faction meeting that he was not surprised at the move, which he attributed to the fascist and racist policies of the government.