Behind the scenes in the Knesset, the internal divisions in a coalition made up of eight diverse parties is apparently exacting a high price in terms of emotional stability, if Likud MK Galit Distel Atbaryan is to be believed.
Writing on her Facebook page on Wednesday night, in the aftermath of the stormy Knesset session that ended with defeat for the government in its attempt to pass the Citizenship Law, Atbaryan related some of the events of the night of the vote.
“On one of the Knesset’s ‘white nights’ [sessions that extend into the early hours of the morning -ed.], I went to my Knesset office to rest a bit on the sofa. A very uncomfortable sofa. I dozed on and off on that very uncomfortable sofa, but then I was suddenly woken up by screams. And when I say screams I mean screams,” she related.
“They weren’t loud voices, or yells, but literally screams,” Atbaryan stressed. “Screams that woke me up and gave me a real shock. I ran to the window to make sure someone wasn’t on fire – someone female, that is, because it was clear that it was a woman who was screaming.”
“My assistant, who was with me in my room, ran with me to the window – he was also in shock, and we both motioned to each other to keep quiet so that we could try to figure out where the screams were coming from – and then suddenly, we both realized at the same time that it was Ayelet Shaked – no doubt about it.
“The screams were so nerve-racking that we had trouble understanding what she was actually saying – it was something like, ‘I’m sick of you!!!’ and other such expressions that I won’t repeat here,” Atbaryan wrote.
“My assistant and I looked at each other in bewilderment, and then we both went out to the corridor to try and find out what was going on – Shaked’s door is right next to mine. The screaming still hadn’t stopped, and the narrow corridor was reverberating with the screams of the Interior Minister, in the middle of the night, in the Israeli Knesset. I stood there with Yedidya, my assistant, and neither of us knew what to do.
“We went back into my office, and we started to comprehend what was going on. A few minutes previously, Shaked had entered the plenum to calls of ‘Shame!’ and ‘Down with you!’ No one could listen to that and remain unaffected, and clearly it had unhinged her a bit – that much was certain.
“I whispered to Yedidya that she must be screaming at Naftali [Bennett] – after all, he’s the one who got her into this mess. It’s all down to him. And he was inclined to agree with me, and suggested that she also felt guilty about her treachery and underhand dealings.”
Distal is a new face in the Knesset, but clearly a rising star who occupies the tenth slot on the Likud list. She also has a background in journalism, where she is respected for her professionalism.
“Meanwhile, the screams continued – even louder than before, in fact, so much so that I was actually starting to feel sorry for her. The realization that her conscience was bothering her so much also caused me to reassess my opinion of her.”
But then the plot took a twist. “Then the door opened – and it wasn’t Naftali who came out, but Amichai Chikli. She had been screaming at him, trying to get him to agree to sell out the state to Mansour Abbas – she had been screaming at him in order to get him to vote in favor of the ‘silent Right of Return’ of Palestinians to Israel – she had been screaming at him just like she locked [Yamina MK] Nir Orbach into the bathroom when he was in two minds as to whether to toe the [party] line in its deceitful behavior.”
“So it turned out that Ayelet didn’t have any attacks of conscience after all. She's the strongest, most determined element in that band of frauds, a real power-house of determination and suddenly fearing that it’s not going to end well for her. By the way, just a few minutes later, Chikli entered the plenum and voted against [the extension of the Citizenship Law]. Good for him!”