From the Liveblog of
Monday, July 14, 2025
Ayman Odeh vows to ‘stand firm’ in face of fascism, fight for democracy after attempt to expel him fails
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Responding to the failed effort to expel him from the Knesset, Hadash-Ta’al chairman Ayman Odeh declares that “the despicable and fascist move against me has failed.”
“We will stand firm against [fascism], and fight for democracy, for equality, and for peace,” he tweets. “From here, we must liberate both peoples from the yoke of occupation. Because we were all born free!”
Hadash-Ta’al MK Aida Touma-Sliman warns that while “the attempt to impeach (sic) Ayman Odeh has failed — but the attack on our political existence continues.”
“They wanted to silence a voice that speaks out against the war, against the occupation, and for a just peace. They tried to send a message: if you refuse to fall in line with the nationalist consensus — you will be punished. But that message didn’t pass. Not today,” she writes on X.
“We were elected to represent the people, to oppose crimes, to speak truth — and that’s exactly what we’ll keep doing. You can threaten, suspend, and incite — but you will not erase us. Our resistance will not be impeached.”
Note that Touma-Sliman’s use of the English “impeach” should oust or expel. Impeachment is not the ousting of a serving official, but the decision to send the matter to a vote in the body that may then oust the official. Ayman Odeh was impeached on June 30, and the subsequent vote to expel him from Knesset has now failed.
The Times of Israel Community.