Knesset Member Ahmed Tibi brought Arab violence to the Knesset yesterday when he slugged an Israeli citizen during a committee session. The civilian, Yehuda Levinger, security officer of Jerusalem\'s Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, filed a complaint with the police.
The incident occurred while the Knesset Interior committee deliberated the problem of illegal Arab construction. Levinger was there to represent his neighborhood which, the residents claim, is slowly but surely being encroached upon by illegal Arab construction from nearby Arab neighborhoods. Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert, who had been invited to give his point of view on the matter, was yelled down and insulted by several of the Arab MKs. Speaking to Arutz-7 today, Levinger picked up the narrative at that point:
\"Committee Chairman Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) was forced to expel Arab MK Issam Mahoul because of the way he was shouting and insulting Olmert, in an attempt to divert the discussion to the demolition of illegally-built Arab homes in northern Jerusalem the day before. As Mahoul left, he called for \'reinforcements\' in the form of other Arab MKs, and Gafni finally had to close the session. At that point, MK Tibi started totally losing control - he\'s known to have been involved in violence of this nature other times - and started yelling. I didn\'t even say anything to him, but he apparently heard someone next to me say something like, \'Would they let them speak like this in Syria?\' He then turned and punched me. I screamed at him, \"Why are you hitting me, idiot?\" and then he again pulled my arm, until others came and took him away from me.\"
Knesset Education Committee Chairman Zevulun Orlev (NRP) said today that the problem of verbal violence in the Knesset, \"which is generally instigated by one sector [the Arabs],\" is a severe phenomenon that must be addressed by Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg. Likud MK Ze\'ev Boim accused Burg of being unduly forgiving of such behavior by Arab MKs.
The incident occurred while the Knesset Interior committee deliberated the problem of illegal Arab construction. Levinger was there to represent his neighborhood which, the residents claim, is slowly but surely being encroached upon by illegal Arab construction from nearby Arab neighborhoods. Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert, who had been invited to give his point of view on the matter, was yelled down and insulted by several of the Arab MKs. Speaking to Arutz-7 today, Levinger picked up the narrative at that point:
\"Committee Chairman Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) was forced to expel Arab MK Issam Mahoul because of the way he was shouting and insulting Olmert, in an attempt to divert the discussion to the demolition of illegally-built Arab homes in northern Jerusalem the day before. As Mahoul left, he called for \'reinforcements\' in the form of other Arab MKs, and Gafni finally had to close the session. At that point, MK Tibi started totally losing control - he\'s known to have been involved in violence of this nature other times - and started yelling. I didn\'t even say anything to him, but he apparently heard someone next to me say something like, \'Would they let them speak like this in Syria?\' He then turned and punched me. I screamed at him, \"Why are you hitting me, idiot?\" and then he again pulled my arm, until others came and took him away from me.\"
Knesset Education Committee Chairman Zevulun Orlev (NRP) said today that the problem of verbal violence in the Knesset, \"which is generally instigated by one sector [the Arabs],\" is a severe phenomenon that must be addressed by Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg. Likud MK Ze\'ev Boim accused Burg of being unduly forgiving of such behavior by Arab MKs.