Hadash-Ta’al slams Knesset committee for ‘McCarthyist’ move to censure party MK

In response to the Knesset Ethics Committee sanctioning one of its lawmakers for making purportedly inflammatory statements, the Hadash-Ta’al party accuses the committee of a political witch hunt against Arab Israelis.

“Excluding MK Aida Touma-Sliman from Knesset deliberations is a McCarthyist political decision that strengthens a persecution campaign [carried out] by right-wing extremists against Arab society and its political representatives,” Hadash-Ta’al, a majority-Arab faction that includes a Communist party, writes in a statement.

Hadash-Ta’al writes that Touma-Sliman “spoke out within the framework of the freedom of political expression to which every Knesset member is entitled” and “there is no ethical problem with MK Touma-Sliman’s remarks.”

Last week, Touma-Sliman wrote on X that Israel was “bombing” Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital, using white phosphorus, and firing at Palestinian evacuees in humanitarian corridors. The Knesset’s Ethics Committee said the IDF denied the accusations, and accused the lawmaker of undermining Israel’s legitimacy by promoting a war crime narrative.