MKs chided for assembly antics

Knesset speaker sends letter berating lawmakers for eating and talking on their phones during parliament sessions

AP — Israel’s freshmen legislators are under fire for acting more like college freshmen than parliamentarians.

The parliament speaker, Yuli Edelstein, sent a letter to legislators berating them for inappropriate behavior. The letter chides members of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, for eating and talking on their phones during parliament sessions.

The missive came after a first-time lawmaker posted a racy Facebook photo of himself lying on a couch in his office, where he says he spent the night, with an unbuttoned shirt draped over his chest.

The photo isn’t mentioned in the letter, but a Knesset official said Wednesday it was what sparked the censure. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

Roughly a third of the Israeli lawmakers are first-time legislators.