The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel submits complaint to Ethics c'tee over Balad MK Nafa attendance at Haifa demonstration in support of Assad.
By LAHAV HARKOVSaid Nafa(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
MK Said Nafa (Balad) has the right to demonstrate in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad, the Knesset Ethics Committee has decided.The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel submitted a complaint to the Ethics Committee late last month, after Nafa participated in a rally in Haifa in support of Assad. According to the Legal Forum’s complaint, 500 people, including Nafa, waved Syrian flags and photos of Assad.“Participation in a demonstration meant to support a dictator suspected of serious crimes against humanity and daily massacres of innocent people...is not an expression of faith to the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” the letter reads. “MK Nafa certainly is not fulfilling his duty to faithfully serve the values of human dignity and the rule of law.”In addition, according to the letter, the demonstrators did not receive a permit from the police, and as such, the Legal Forum says it does not fall under MKs’ right to free speech.The Ethics Committee, however, rejected the Legal Forum’s complaint last week.“Participation in a political conference, even if its messages are not pleasant to the ear, to say the least, falls under the freedom of political action and expression of MKs,” committee chairman Yitzhak Vaknin (Shas) wrote.
![Said Nafa (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/137368 "Said Nafa")