Lieberman Slams Potential Arab Support for Minority Government; Smotrich Weighs In
Translated & summarized from Kikar HaShabbat by baba
Bezalel Smotrich echoed Lieberman's sentiment with his own jab. Separately, outgoing Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana announced a vote for his successor will take place in one week, expressing concern over potential legislation aimed at empowering the Attorney General.
The story in 4 lines · by baba
- Bezalel Smotrich questioned Lieberman's stance by asking if he'd appoint Arab parties' members as speaker.
- Outgoing Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana scheduled a vote for his replacement in one week.
- Ohana expressed concern the vote is intended to grant more power to the Attorney General.
- The Knesset plenum will convene next Tuesday for the speaker election vote.
Lieberman posted on X (formerly Twitter) a screenshot from the Walla news site reporting that Knesset members from the Joint List had walked out of the plenum during the singing of "Hatikvah," Israel's national anthem. "Is this who you want to form a government with?" Lieberman wrote.
In response, Bezalel Smotrich shared a new screenshot of Lieberman's post, adding his own commentary: "'Ivvy, is this who you want to appoint as Knesset Speaker?'"
Meanwhile, outgoing Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana announced Tuesday evening that he intends to bring his replacement to a vote in one week. Ohana stated that he received a "highly unusual request" from 67 Knesset members to schedule a vote for the speaker of the 26th Knesset. He set the vote for next Tuesday, November 17, at 4:00 PM. Ohana expressed concern that the request, made outside the standard timeline for electing a speaker, is intended to advance legislation that would grant significant power to the Attorney General, thereby increasing the imbalance between elected officials and civil servants. Despite his strong opposition to this intention by the emerging coalition, Ohana pledged to honor the will of the majority of Knesset members and convene the plenum as scheduled.
