The Likud faction is concerned that the suspension of MK Oren Hazan from Knesset debates for a month could disrupt the functioning of the coalition. Opposition whip MK Merav Michaeli (Zionist Camp) has made it clear Wednesday evening, according to Ha’aretz, that none of the opposition members would agree to offset their votes with Hazan. “They’re members of the Prime Minister’s party, let him take responsibility,” she said.
The Knesset Ethics Committee suspended Hazan from all plenary and committee meetings for one month following a series of complaints against him. The most recent explosion surrounding his name took place last week, when Hazan was accused of mocking a disabled MK. She for her part told him he was a piece of garbage and should die, but it didn’t matter.
Although Hazan is not suspended from participating in voting, a ruling that’s outside the authority of the Ethics Committee, the Likud fears he would just make himself unavailable to vote, for spite. “In our situation in which our majority is so fragile (61-59) and depends on Hazan’s one vote, his suspension could damage the functioning of the whole coalition,” party members have said off the record. “You can’t expect him to sit outside the plenary for long hours in the coming weeks and to come in just to raise his hand. His despair, too, might cause him to miss critical votes on purpose.”
House Speaker and Hazan’s party member, MK Yuli Edelstein, welcomed the decision to suspend him. “It is a lesson to all those who come to the Knesset, it is better to serve the voters who sent them and not to defile the honor of the Knesset and its members.”
Also on Wednesday, Hazan was tangled in a different web, the state comptroller’s report determined that he knowingly submitted a false statement, committing a criminal offense punishable by up to three years in prison. Comptroller Joseph Shapiro noted that Hazan has stated that he did not raise funds or spend money during the Likud primaries, but the comptroller revealed that the Hazan campaign included printing banners, distributing business cards, sending postcards and distributing stickers and T-shirts at a high cost. Shapiro rejected the Hazan claim that these activities were financed by his family without his knowledge so he thought that he did not have to declare them. The comptroller fined Hazan $12,500 and made it clear that the findings in his case were turned over to the Attorney General, who may decide to order the police to investigate.