An uproar erupted today (Tuesday) in the Knesset plenum following the swearing-in ceremony for the 26th Knesset, after all 19 Arab Members of Knesset (MKs) demonstratively walked out of the chamber as the national anthem, “Hatikvah,” began to play.
The incident occurred after all 120 new MKs had taken their oath of allegiance to the State of Israel. As the national anthem began, the Arab MKs rose from their seats and exited the plenum. Other MKs present in the hall immediately expressed their outrage, leading to a chaotic scene.
This confrontation followed an earlier incident during the swearing-in ceremony. When the chairman of the Joint List, Yousef Jabareen, declared, “I pledge,” Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir called out to him: “To whom is he pledging? To Hamas?”
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana quickly moved to silence the outbursts, stating: “We are currently in the process of taking oaths of allegiance. Anyone else who causes a disturbance will be removed without prior warning.” Ben-Gvir’s remark came amid sharp criticism directed at the Arab parties, which refuse to label the murderous terrorist organization Hamas as a “terrorist organization”—even more than three years after the October 7th massacre and the outbreak of the war. The departure of the Arab MKs during the national anthem further intensified the anger within the plenum.