Otzma Yehudit Chairman MK Itamar Ben Gvir on Wednesday morning tweeted: “Hypocrisy at its best: all the coalition members who so far have not found the time to utter one word about the IDF fighter who was critically wounded on Saturday, are quick to respond to Alkharumi’s death.”
MK Ben Gvir was making political hay over the mournful responses of coalition members to the untimely passing due to a heart attack of Ra’am MK Said Alkharumi. Ben Gvir (yibadel l’chayim arukim v’tovim) was referring to a fact yours truly noted in this morning Jewish Press obituary (Ra’am MK Said Alkharumi Dies of Heart Attack, Led Effort to Legitimize Illegal Bedouin Negev Settlements) to the fact that as far as most of the Lapid-Bennett coalition members, the departed was a political menace and a ticking time bomb:
Alkharumi was the only one in his party who did not support the new Lapid-Bennett government when it was introduced, but abstained, staining its record from day one as having received only 60 votes—one short of a majority. He stated that his abstention was a protest of the demolition of Bedouin homes in the Negev – even after his party chairman, MK Mansur Abbas, had squeezed broad recognition of those very homes from his incoming coalition partners.
Alkharumi was a constant source of concern for the coalition leadership that feared his appetite for sabotaging its legislative efforts, especially when the time came to pass a state budget this November.
Apparently, MK Ben Gvir caught some flack over his hay-making tweet, to the point where he felt he had to respond. So he sent us the following statement:
I did not celebrate the death of MK Alkharumi this morning, but I won’t for a moment forget that he is an enemy of the State of Israel and of IDF soldiers. I stand completely behind my tweet coming out against hypocritical politicians who are in a hurry to eulogize Alkharumi but did not offer a word and a half of support to the IDF soldier, a hero who has been hospitalized and fighting for his life after being shot the same terrorists that Alkharumi protected. Alkharumi legitimized attacks on soldiers, participated in events of support for the “martyrs,” supported Barghouti, and sought to destroy the Negev – hypocrites, we are fed up with you.
It stands to show you that even the ancient principle of “Achrei mot kdoshim” has limits.