Opposition lawmakers walked out of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee session Sunday in protest after the committee chairman attacked the legal advisor for opposing the deserters bill, according to N12's Eli Hirshman. "We are not a backdrop for your empty declarations," the opposition MKs said. "There is no Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, there is an Evasion Committee."
Shortly after Committee Chairman MK Boaz Bismut directly attacked the committee's legal advisor Adv. Miri Frankel Shor during a session at about 14:09 Jerusalem, opposition lawmakers walked out of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in protest. The walkout, reported by N12's Eli Hirshman, came as the committee continued advancing the so-called deserters bill, which would cancel sanctions and arrests for Haredi draft evaders. The opposition MKs shouted, "We are not a backdrop for your empty declarations. There is no Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, there is an Evasion Committee."
The incident is the latest in a series of confrontations during today's committee session. At 14:09 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that Bismut had directly attacked Frankel Shor over her opposition to the bill. Earlier, at the same time stamp, the committee had approved the bill for final readings, with the legal advisor opposing it as unconstitutional. The thread has been reported by multiple news outlets, initially by Yediot News and i24NEWS, and later with specific exchanges by N12's Eli Hirshman.
The Zioneer previously reported that the committee's legal advisor formally opposed the bill on June 29, arguing it creates an illegitimate bypass of the conscription law. The Knesset's legal adviser also opposed a coalition proposal on June 18. Opposition MKs had earlier demanded an investigation into Haredi MKs' conflict of interest on the bill, as The Zioneer reported on July 8.
The bill still requires final Knesset votes before the upcoming recess. It remains unclear whether the walkout will disrupt the legislative timetable. The legal advisor's constitutional objections have not been resolved.
5 developments
- StrongKnesset committee legal advisor opposes deserters bill, says it bypasses conscription law
- StrongOpposition MKs ask Knesset panel to delay vote on arrest-freeze for yeshiva draft evaders; chair rejects
- DevelopingKnesset panel proceeds with arrest-immunity debate for Haredi non-enlistees; opposition furious Sukkot chairs session
- DevelopingOpposition lawmakers ejected from Knesset committee on media bill
Source and signal
- Internal intake