As a former MK, I can permit myself to extend a Knesset welcome to Ayman Odeh, who has just been elected and heads both the Hadash party and the Joint Arab List. I hope this does not sound patronizing, but I think he has made an auspicious start as a legislator.

I read with great interest his interview with Haaretz’s Ofra Edelman and was gratified to learn that he and the other Hadash MKs did not walk out of the Knesset session during the singing of the national anthem. Probably many people, like myself, were under the impression that every Joint List MK walked out demonstratively.

It is to his credit that he realized that walking out during the singing of the national anthem would be a blatant demonstration of disrespect for Israel, and that it is unbecoming of newly elected MKs to begin their Knesset careers in such a disgraceful manner. Our national anthem expresses the longing of the Jewish people for their ancient homeland, and it is understandable if some of Israel’s Arab citizens have difficulty identifying with the words.

Read the article in full at Haaretz.