MK Kathrin Shitrit (Likud) on Monday evening wrote to Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and asked him to remove MK Ahmed Tibi (Joint List) from the Knesset Finance Committee.
The letter was written in the wake of the confrontation between Shitrit and Tibi during a discussion at the Finance Committee earlier in the day, during which Tibi called Shitrit a “piece of garbage."
"Today, during a discussion of the Knesset Finance Committee, Ahmed Tibi called the director of Regavim, Meir Deutsch, 'the scum of the human race, filth, garbage' and more. I asked MK Ahmed Tibi to let him speak, following which MK Ahmed Tibi shouted at me in Arabic,” Shitrit wrote Edelstein.
"When I called on him to address me in Hebrew, he called out to me: 'Shut up, why are you telling me not to speak in Arabic, you piece of garbage.' I later found out to me that he was also shouting to me in Arabic to 'shut up.'”
"This call is a humiliation of me personally and of all Knesset members. This behavior is not suitable for the Knesset. Shouts, derogatory calls and curses should not be heard here nor should any of the Knesset members be threatened. In addition, these screams are known to be driven by fierce ideological controversy. Knesset members on the right should not feel threatened by the violent behavior of MKs from the Joint List,” added Shitrit.
She stressed that Tibi was not punished for his behavior. "Unfortunately, MK Ahmed Tibi was not removed from the committee meeting, despite the severity of the incident. These days, the Ethics Committee is not operating and I cannot appeal to them over the blatant violation of these ethics rules. That is why I call on you to keep MK Ahmed Tibi out of the Finance Committee discussions until the date of the election.”
Tibi, of course, is known for his controversial actions and statements. In the past, he encouraged Arabs to disobey the “Muezzin Law” which would limit the use of loudspeakers during the call to prayer in mosques.
He has also praised the Palestinian Authority’s “martyrs” at a ceremony held on the occasion of "Palestinian Martyrs Day” and sponsored by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Tibi once described Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman as a “Jewish ISIS”, after Liberman advocated for “cutting of the heads” of Arabs who were not loyal to Israel.
Earlier this year, he spoke of his dream to one day become Israel’s prime minister, adding “and if I it’s not me, then it will be another Ahmed, Mohammed or Mahmoud."