Treasonous MK's

Why does Israel tolerate Arab Knesset members who openly cavort with the enemy? These MK's need to be stripped of their positions and imprisoned on charges of treason.

Civic responsibility should not be optional
Jan. 6, 2010
Danny Ayalon , THE JERUSALEM POST
On the one-year anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, there are certain Arab Knesset members who are using this opportunity to castigate Israel and score points abroad. What makes this even more disheartening is the fact that while Arab MKs are becoming more extreme and less allied with the state that pays their wages, many of their constituents are seeking greater integration with the Jewish state.

A recent report published by Shlomit, the National Service Placement Organization, indicated that the past year has seen an almost 100-percent increase in the number of Arab-Israelis volunteering for National Service. While the total numbers are not staggering, they do represent a sizable portion of the Israeli Arab sector that is moving toward greater civic responsibility.

During last year's general elections, my party, Israel Beiteinu, was castigated for making civic responsibility and its corollary, enhanced loyalty to the state where one resides, a part of its platform. It is obvious by our success at the polls that this resonated with a public that has become incensed with the situation in which many share a burden that others don't. While many doomsayers felt that ending this acquiescent disparity would further alienate certain minority groups, the opposite has been proven true.

HOWEVER, WHILE significant numbers in the Arab community are seeking greater integration, their supposed representatives in the Knesset are falling over themselves to play to a different constituency.

During a recent rally at the Erez crossing, Balad MK Jamal Zahalka hurled disgraceful abuse at Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who he said enjoys "classical music and killing children in Gaza." He then reiterated these remarks in an interview with Dan Margalit on theNew Evening TV show until Margalit became so incensed with this blood libel that he ordered Zahalka to leave.

Earlier at the same rally, MK Taleb a-Sanaa (UAL-Ta'al) allowed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to use his cellphone as a speaker to direct his torrent of abuse against Israel to the assembled crowd. Sanaa is an employee of the state and thus receives certain benefits like a cellphone, which means that our taxes were being used by a member of an organization sworn to destroy our state. This is unacceptable and should be a matter of concern for all.

Read the rest