Two Zionist Union lawmakers received one of the Knesset Ethics Committee’s harshest punishments Tuesday, in response to their accusing colleagues in the Likud of criminal activities.
MK Michal Biran was punished for calling MK Oren Hazan a “pimp,” even though the Ethics Committee had previously warned lawmakers against doing so, and MK Stav Shaffir called MK Miki Zohar “corrupt.”
Shaffir and Biran, both female lawmakers under 40, will not be able to participate in committee or plenum debates, but they may enter the plenum to vote.
In November, Biran and Hazan got into a heated argument in the Knesset Finance Committee.
The Ethics Committee plans to review Hazan’s behavior at a later date, but he is expected to receive its harshest punishment of all, a six-month suspension.
It began when Hazan disagreed with a policy and called it “putting Zionism on sale.” In response, Kulanu MK Rachel Azaria, a member of the Ethics Committee, said: “No, no, you’re going to teach us what Zionism is?”
“I can teach you a lot of things. I don’t know if you can allow yourself to learn them,” Hazan said.
Biran interjected: “I don’t know what she’ll do with your expertise in casino management,” referring to a 2015 Channel 2 News report that Hazan managed a casino in Burgas, Bulgaria, pimping prostitutes and providing methamphetamine to Israeli tourists, and using drugs himself. Hazan sued Channel 2 for libel; the court found that the reports related to prostitutes and drug use were defensible, but not that of dealing drugs.
Article source: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.834358
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