Israeli politician and right-wing Likud MK Oran Hazan deserves to be nominated for Israel's outrageous man of the year for his bizarre and obnoxious behaviour. This lawmaker lacks manners and human decency.
Hazan is known for his outrageous statements and even Simon Plosker, the editor of the pro-Israeli TV outlet "Honest Reporting," referred to him as enfant terrible. The term is French and it literally means "terrifying child". English speakers use the term in reference to children – specifically, unpredictable children who blurt out outrageous remarks that embarrass their parents.
Here are some samples of Oran Hazan's most outrageous acts and statements he made inside and outside the Knesset:
1- Last April, he labeled the Jerusalem-born American superstar Natalie Portman as a "traitor" and called to have her Israeli citizenship be revoked after Portman refused to accept the prestigious Israeli award which is known as the "Jewish Nobel." Reason? It was in protest of the Israeli slaughtering of unarmed Palestinian (men, women, and children) protesters in Gaza, including medics and journalists.
2- Last year, he infuriated millions of Palestinia,s after he posted a video of himself aboard a bus loaded with Palestinian parents traveling from Gaza to visit their relatives who are detained in Israeli prisons. Hazan was seen in the video calling the elderly Palestinians "dogs," "beasts," human scum," and "terrorists." He later justified his cheap publicity stunt by saying, "That was an effort to pressure Hamas to free the two Israeli citizens and the remains of two Israelis killed in 2014. Obviously, Hazan doesn't want the rest of the world to know that Israel is currently holding 6,500 Palestinian prisoners, among them 63 women, 350 children, 12 Palestinian lawmakers, and one Belgian citizen of Palestinian origin. Not to mention the remains of 263 Palestinians who are still held by Israel.
3- The lunatic lawmaker stood recently before the Knesset and called speaker Yuli Edelstein, a highly respected lawmaker, as "Stalin." He then refused to apologize when called upon. As a result of this and other previous insults to Knesset's members, he earned himself a six-month suspension which was ordered by the Knesset Ethics Committee. In the aftermath, 16 Jewish settler leaders signed an open letter titled, "Oren Hazan, Enough!" which was posted on social media, shaming him for his outrageous behavior.
4- Following the infamous slapping of an armed IOF soldier by Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi in December 2017, he tweeted, "If I was there, should would finish in the hospital? For sure. Nobody could stop me. I would kick her face, believe me."
5- Most recently, he called a disabled MK Ilan Gilon who is wheelchair-bound during a heated debate in the Knesset a " half-human." This came during a heated Knesset debate over a legislation that would see government funding for the arts as contingent on “loyalty.” Days of Palestine said, "The law targets Arab residents in order to stop commemorating Palestinian occasions." The Palestinian publication also questioned Hazan's immorality and his Likud party for tolerating his behavior.
6- His verbal insult exchanges on Twitter last year with Jordanian MP Yahya al-Saud, who is the chairman of the Palestine Committee in the Jordanian parliament, have led to a comical challenge. The Jordanian lawmaker dared him to a wrestling match at the Allenby Bridge Border crossing with Jordan. While Hazan was on his way to the rendezvous to meet Al-Saud there, he was ordered by Prime Minister's office to stop, turn around, and come back.
Oren Hazan is also as annoying as the next person in the movie theater who slurps the last drop of his soda pop. He even humiliated PM Netanyahu who tried to stop awestruck Israeli lawmaker from taking a selfie with Donald Trump moments after he landed in Tel Aviv. The bizarre incident was described by the Jerusalem Post as a "national embarrassment." For those reasons, I am nominating Oren Hazan as Israel's Outrageous Man of the Year.
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