Knesset Committee Appoints MK Taha as Chair of Internal Affairs and Environment Committee

​The Knesset House Committee, chaired by MK Nir Orbach (Yamina), convened on Thursday and decided to recommend to the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee to appoint MK Waleed Taha (Ra’am—United Arab List) as the committee chair, instead of the late MK Saeed Alkharumi, who passed away last month.

MKs Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism), Shlomo Karhi (Likud) and Orit Strock (Religious Zionism) opposed the motion, stating that MK Taha is a representative of a party that supports terrorism.

MK Taha said that certain MKs had a fundamental problem with sharing influence and resources with the Arab public. “These are benighted people who live in the past. We are citizens living on our land, and we have been elected by a constituency that sent us to the Knesset,” Taha said.

“I am not glad to have received the post due to the loss of a dear friend. I will manage the committee in a non-partisan fashion. All issues will be handled professionally and without prejudice. I am not connected to racists; I scorn them and I don’t pay attention to what they say,” Taha added.

The motion was approved by a majority of six MKs, with four opposing votes.