MK Yehuda Glick (Likud) remained in the plenum as many of his fellow MKs from the coalition left to boycott the speeches given by MKs from the Joint Arab List during the opening of the Knesset's winter session Monday.
When asked why he did not participate in the boycott Glick said "I don't participate in the shouting at the MKs from the Joint List...What is important to me is the honor and dignity of the Knesset."
He added "On the day when I entered the Knesset there were MKs who chose to boycott my swearing in ceremony. When I asked them about it I said it was their their right to do so, but I fundamentally object to boycotts. The test of a person's values comes at precisely the times when it is inconvenient."
"Today the leaders of the coalition announced that we would be boycotting the Joint List. No one asked our opinion. All the coalition members I talked to said that it was not a smart move. I usually obey party discipline. I asked other MKs if boycotts are included in party discipline. They made it clear that (party discipline) is about voting. I therefore decided to follow my conscience and sat and listened to the speeches by the Joint List, even though much of what they said was not pleasant to me."