Knesset chair calls on public to vote out MKs who lower public discourse

Knesset chairman Yuli Edelstein releases a statement calling on members of the Israeli public to vote out lawmakers who are lowering public discourse in the country.

The statement comes after two incidents in the Knesset — one in which a lawmaker called a handicapped colleague “half a human” and another in which an MK suggested that a female minister had advanced during her military career by sleeping with her superiors.

“In the last 24 hours, I have received many complaints regarding the conduct of MKs in the plenum,” says Edelstein. “Unfortunately, this is not a new matter.”

“I understand the hearts of these concerned citizens. I myself, am foremost a concerned citizen. But the message I want to convey to you is this one: democracy is the rule of the people.”

“You, the citizens, choose who will get to sit in the Knesset and represent you and who will remain on the outside.”

“By registering for membership in parties, for example, you can influence the list that the party presents to the Knesset,” he says.

Edelstein calls on citizens “not to lend a hand to this heated and inflammatory discourse on the internet.”

“You will prove to those Knesset members who are trying to gain publicity through provocations, that you cannot be bought with dirty speech.”