MK Issawi Frej
MK Issawi FrejIsrael news photo: Flash 90

MK Issawi Freij (Meretz) addressed the Knesset plenum Monday as the parliament was preparing to vote on its own dissolution, and ended his speech with a promise that March 17 – the day of the national elections – would see the government overturned.

A few seconds later, Freij himself overturned, taking a tumble on the plenum floor. Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein reacted with a faint Yiddish exclamation of “oyoyoyo” and newly dismissed minister Yair Lapid rushed to assist Freij back to his feet.

While the Book of Proverbs enjoins Jews – “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles” – body language is widely recognized as being psychologically significant, and a physical stumble might indicate something about the speaker's frame of mind. 

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