Member of Israeli Parliament Hanin Zoabi during discussion over her disqualification. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Falsely equating Israel with ISIS has become a favorite theme among enemies of the Jewish state. Now, that wrongful comparison has shockingly come from Israel’s own Parliament.

The campaign head of the Arab Joint List running in the national elections alleged on Tuesday that the Islamic State (ISIS) terror organization learned to commit heinous crimes from Israel.

Responding to a question during an election panel discussion at Bar-Ilan University, campaign head Raja Zaetrah equated Israel with the notorious Islamic terror organization.

“Where did ISIS learn these crimes? Look at what the Zionist movement did in 1948. The rape, the looting, the murder, the massacre, that were carried out in these areas,” he claimed.

He refused to state that Hamas was a terror organization, insisting that “an occupied nation” has the right to self defense.

Remarks Drew Strong Condemnation

Zaetrah’s remarks drew strong condemnation from several politicians and political parties.

FM Liberman. (Photo: Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, head of the Israel Beitenu party, stated: “High Court judges authorized the horrible things that Zoabi did and said in recent years, leading Zaetrah to allow himself to say things that in any other country would have his citizenship revoked and he would be deported.”

Liberman was referring to the court’s decision to cancel Arab MK Hanin Zoabi’s ban from the Knesset last month. Zoabi is known for her sharp anti-Israel rhetoric and vocal support for terror organizations.

Liberman vowed to change the law so that the High Court could not overwrite Knesset decisions to ban MKs.

The right-wing Yahad party stated that the “true face of the Joint List has been exposed in full,” saying that all its members “agree either openly or secretly with Zoabi, who opposes the existence of the State of Israel.” The party called on the attorney-general to investigate Zaetrah’s comments.

The Joint List later released a statement claiming that Zaetrah was responding to a provocation from the audience, saying: “The Joint List released an official, determined stance against ISIS’s crimes and condemns them without any connection to other historic events.”

By: Aryeh Savir
Staff Writer, United with Israel