Bernie Sanders cheers as Knesset bid to impeach pro-terror MK fails

After ultra-Orthodox lawmakers resign from the government, motion to expel Ayman Odeh from the Knesset fails to secure three-quarters majority.

By World Israel News Staff

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on Monday celebrated the failure of the Israeli Knesset to pass a motion which would have stripped an anti-Israel lawmaker of his seat, after ultra-Orthodox lawmakers resigned from the Netanyahu government.

Earlier on Monday, the Knesset voted 73 to 15 in favor of a measure drafted by Coalition MKs to impeach MK Ayman Odeh, chairman of the predominantly Arab Joint List.

While the motion received a majority in the 120-member Knesset, it fell short of the 90 votes needed to impeach Odeh.

The majority of the 15 votes against the motion were cast by members of the two predominantly Arab parties – the United Arab List and the Joint List – who hold a combined 10 seats in the Knesset. A lone member of the centrist National Unity party, Alon Schuster, also voted against the measure, as did members of the four-MK The Democrats party.

A number of lawmakers were absent from Monday’s vote, including MKs from both Yesh Atid and National Unity, as well as the entire seven-MK United Torah Judaism party, which resigned from the Netanyahu government Monday evening.

Odeh, who leads the communist Hadash faction within the Joint List, was targeted for expulsion from the Knesset over a pair of comments earlier this year.

In January, Odeh responded to the hostage deal with Hamas with a tweet which appeared to conflate Israeli hostages with jailed Arab terrorists.

“I am happy about the release of the hostages and prisoners. From here, both peoples must be freed from the yoke of the occupation. We were all born free.”

Later, Odeh declared at a rally that “Gaza won” the war against Israel, adding “Gaza will win.”

Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a long-time critic of Israel who has repeatedly castigated the Netanyahu government, condemned the bid to impeach Odeh, and expressed satisfaction at its failure to pass the 90-vote threshold.

“Israel’s far right tried to expel Ayman Odeh, an Arab Israeli opposition leader, from the Knesset because of his opposition to Netanyahu’s war,” Sanders tweeted.

“Today, they failed. If Israel is going to be considered a democracy, it cannot expel members of parliament for their political views.”