On last Tuesday, June 24, during wars in Gaza and Iran, the Knesset House Committee began the process of expelling MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash). Why? He protected free speech and called for the end of war and occupation. But in a so called “Israel democracy” a political speech by a Hadash MK is grounds for dismissal. Dr Hassan Jabareen of Adalah—The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights, who is serving as Odeh’s legal counsel and is arguing as such.

Att. Jabareen, condemned the process as fundamentally flawed and unlawful, noting that the MKs’ refusal to follow the legal advisor’s ruling violated Odeh’s rights and rendered the entire procedure illegitimate. He emphasized that Odeh’s speech is fully legal and protected. The proceedings confirmed what has been clear from the outset of this process: the expulsion attempt is a dangerous, inciteful escalation in the ongoing political assault against Hadash and Arab Palestinian lawmakers in Israel.