If it were not for Israel’s establishment, the country’s Arab population would still be riding on camels, declares Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu (Otzma Yehudit) during a special Knesset session marking Jerusalem Day and Students Day.
“If the State of Israel had not been established and had not helped the population of Walid and his friends to study in academia, they would still be riding camels,” declares the far-right minister, following a speech by Ra’am MK Waleed Alhwashla.
This is not the first time a coalition minister has mocked Arabs by invoking camels.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich faced accusations of racism last year for saying that he wouldn’t agree to a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia if it meant the establishment of a Palestinian state, disparagingly saying the Saudis could “keep riding camels.”
Nor is it the first inflammatory statement by Eliyahu, who called for using a nuclear weapon on Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
