Jerusalem, 11 November, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The first meeting of the Knesset Arrangements Committee on Wednesday, chaired by MK Roy Folkman (Yashar), turned contentious, with traded insults and heated confrontations between lawmakers.
Chairman Folkman struggled to maintain order and eventually ejected three MKs. The removal came after Arab lawmakers had been heard threatening to withhold their votes from the change bloc unless Folkman removed the members they accused of disrupting the proceedings.
The Arrangements Committee makes temporary appointments of committee chairmen and members to key parliamentary committees until the new government is sworn in, so the committees can convene and deliberate on proposed legislation. The committee convened to approve appointments to the Finance Committee and the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Folkman ordered the removal of MKs Almog Cohen and Erez Tadmor (Likud) after Tadmor called MK Naama Lazimi (Democrats) a “chicken,” adding, “She screams like a chicken.” Lazimi fired back, “Weapons thieves won’t humiliate women,” a reference to Tadmor’s 2001 conviction, when he was an IDF soldier, for stealing weapons and property. He served 48 days in prison and four months on parole, and was demoted to corporal.
Folkman also ordered the removal of MK Tali Gotliv (Otzma Yehudit), who repeatedly interrupted the proceedings, particularly when Arab lawmakers were speaking, calling them “terror supporters.”
As security guards escorted Gotliv out, Arab MKs shouted “Barra, barra” (“Get out, get out”) at her. She responded by again calling Joint List MK Walid al-Hawashla a “terror supporter.”
Otzma Yehudit said in a statement: “There is no limit to the disgrace. Terror supporters in the Knesset are completely managing the left-wing bloc, dictating its agenda and getting MK Tali Gotliv, a courageous lawmaker, thrown out of the chamber simply because she told the truth. It is disgraceful to see an entire bloc cave in to blackmail by Ahmad Tibi and his associates, becoming their hostage simply to secure a seat.”
Outgoing coalition whip MK Ofir Katz said Likud would file a complaint with the Knesset Ethics Committee over the removal of the three lawmakers from the meeting.
At the conclusion of the wild meeting, the committee approved MK Liran Avisar Ben-Horin (Together) as temporary chairwoman of the Finance Committee, thus making her the first woman to head the Finance Committee, one of the Knesset’s most influential bodies, which oversees the state budget, taxation, the Bank of Israel and foreign currency policy.
Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Liberman was appointed temporary chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
