In the course of the plenum debate Wednesday on the subject of the Goldstone report on alleged Israeli "war crimes," MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) became imbrogled in a prolonged shouting match with Arab Knesset Members. Ben-Ari had been saying in his speech, "We will liquidate the front bastion of the enemies of Israel which is in the Knesset, and we will act via legislation to take the terrorists out of the Knesset.”
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Israel's UN Ambassador Gavriela Shalev all made statements and speeches today (Wednesday) in which they repeated the theme that the Goldstone report is skewed and encourages terror.
MK Danny Danon (Likud) tore up parts of the Goldstone report in the course of his speech on the Knesset podium. “We need to tell Mr. Goldstone that we do not accept such reports,” he said. “This report is distorted. I have the honor of ripping it apart, page after page,” the rookie MK and former head of World Likud said.
The dramatic flourish – which contravened Knesset rules – was reminiscent of the famous speech in 1975 by former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Chaim Herzog, who got up on the UN podium and tore up a copy of a UN resolution calling Zionism “a form of racism.”