From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 9, 2026
‘You are welcome to go to Jordan’: Likud MK demands Arab lawmakers speak Hebrew in Knesset
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"
Firebrand lawmaker Tally Gotliv slams Arab lawmakers for speaking Arabic in the Knesset plenum, declaring that “if you don’t feel like speaking Hebrew, you are welcome to go to Jordan.”
Gotliv frequently yells at Arab lawmakers when they attempt to speak Arabic from the Knesset rostrum during debates.
“You don’t want to go to Jordan? No problem. Egypt, we’ll see if they accept you. You don’t want Egypt? Saudi Arabia. They won’t accept you either. Maybe they’ll really accept them in Somalia, maybe in Sudan? Maybe in Ethiopia? I don’t know,” she continues.
“Here, you are citizens with equal rights, and therefore you have to respect the law. And the fact that you sit here in the Israeli Knesset and don’t recognize a Jewish state and say this on Al Jazeera makes you, in my opinion, supporters of terrorism.”
Members of Knesset have the right to speak in Arabic from the plenum, as it has a special status under Israeli law.
Addressing the Arab and Bedouin communities, Gotliv declares that “none of the Arab Knesset members represents you,” slamming them for criticizing far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
The Times of Israel Community.