Tempers flared in the Knesset on Wednesday as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir defended the proposed Muezzin Law, with repeated interruptions from Arab lawmakers leading to shouting matches, the removal of several MKs from the plenum, and a fiery speech accusing the opposition of hypocrisy.

The confrontation began almost immediately after Ben-Gvir approached the podium. Arab party lawmakers, including MK Walid Alhwashla of Ra’am, repeatedly interrupted his remarks with loud heckling. Ben-Gvir responded by repeatedly shouting “Out! Out!” at the protesting lawmakers while the presiding officer attempted to restore order. After several minutes of disruptions, a number of opposition MKs were escorted from the chamber.

Once the hall quieted, Ben-Gvir launched into a forceful defense of the legislation, while sharply criticizing opposition lawmakers.

“I must protest the hypocrisy on the opposition benches,” he declared. “These are the same people who come to us and ask, ‘Why is there lawlessness in the Arab sector? Why? Why are there all kinds of criminal phenomena in Tayibe, Umm al-Fahm, and Sakhnin?'”

He argued that the very politicians demanding action against crime oppose government efforts to strengthen law enforcement in the Negev and Arab communities.

“Look at this astonishing thing,” Ben-Gvir said. “When we want governance, and we implement governance, suddenly it doesn’t suit them!”

Ben-Gvir insisted that the legislation targeting excessive noise from mosque loudspeakers is not directed against any particular religious or ethnic group but is intended to improve the quality of life for residents affected by excessive noise, including many Arab and Bedouin communities.

“We are acting not only for Danny, Moshe, Shlomo, and Chaim,” he said. “There are people, children, living in Rahat. Do you know how many complaints I receive from Rahat? Do you know how many come from the Bedouin communities?” He added that “We have no expectations from them because they encourage it.”

The minister also thanked those who helped advance the legislation, singling out National Security Committee Chairman MK Tzvika Foghel for promoting “law after law after law for the State of Israel.” He also praised Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman for working with him over the past several years to move the initiative forward, and commended Coalition Chairman Ofir Katz for leading a coalition that has advanced legislation “that hasn’t been passed in 30 or 40 years.”

Ben-Gvir intensified his criticism by accusing opposition lawmakers of selectively championing civil rights while ignoring the problems faced by residents in the Arab sector.

“My problem is with the hypocrisy of these people,” he said. “The people who constantly preach about civil rights don’t care about a 10-year-old child in Rahat who wets the bed because he constantly hears the noise. Merav Cohen doesn’t care that women are taken… abused, used as slaves. We didn’t hear a word! Not one word! It doesn’t interest them.”

He argued that the legislation would improve the lives of residents throughout Israel, particularly children in Rahat, and claimed that if the bill’s opponents were not “two-faced,” they would have introduced it themselves.

Toward the end of his address, Ben-Gvir also directed unusually pointed criticism at United Torah Judaism chairman MK Moshe Gafni over what he described as political cooperation with Arab parties.

“In one word, my friend Moshe Gafni, I am so disappointed in you,” Ben-Gvir said. “This alliance, this deal with Ahmad Tibi, has never helped the chareidim. This alliance is taking you nowhere! Nowhere! Stop this, Moshe Gafni, stop. Rabbi Gafni, whom I respect and appreciate, but for Degel HaTorah to stand again and again behind their proposals, against everything they oppose? That is a great mistake, and it harms the State of Israel.”

Ben-Gvir concluded by urging lawmakers to support the bill, declaring, “You don’t care about civil rights—we do. We care about the children, the women, the people of Israel, and the State of Israel—and you can keep shouting.”

{Matzav.com}