...and I thought traitors in the US were bad!

Now Israel has it's very own version of John Murtha...Only worse. Murtha has said a lot of bad things about US troops, but he has never actually supported the kidnapping of US soldiers. However an Arab member of the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) has actually come out in support of the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Hamas militants. MK (Member of Knesset) Wasil Taha of the Balad Party said the following in a recent interview with Israel Radio: "the murder and massive bombardment of Gaza and the continued killings have left Palestinians with two options: Either to harm innocent civilians or confront the army, and they've picked the more difficult choice of confronting Israel Defense Forces, capturing [Corporal Gilad] Shalit in the conflict." Taha was then asked whether or not the kidnapping of Shalit was legitimate, to which he responded, "the occupation is not legitimate". Furthermore, Taha objects to the use of the word "kidnapping" to describe the abduction, saying that a more fitting word would be "captured". His defense of this statement was "A kidnapping is something terrorist organizations and as such do". (Note: People who blow up busses and fire Qassam rockets at innocent civilians are TERRORISTS!)

Now, Mr. Taha is entitled to his opinion (sick and demented as it may be). However, he is an Israeli citizen, and therefore his comments in support of his country's enemies are, by definition, traitorous. Furthermore, I am sure that Taha had to take some sort of oath to support Israel when he entered the Knesset (I would appreciate info from any one familiar with the process of swearing in MKs), and my guess is that his current stance places him in violation of that oath. Therefore, he should be thrown out of the Knesset immediately (kudos to MK Efi Eitam, who is asking Israel's Attorney General to investigate Mr. Taha).

In conclusion: Mr. Taha is a traitor to his country. If he has more loyalty to the Palestinians than to Israel, then he should relinquish his Israeli citizenship and emigrate to the Palestinian Territories, and I hope he does.

Tags: Israel, Palestine, Middle East, Terrorism, Politics, Treason, Wasil Taha, Taha, Balad, Knesset