'Bring vodka:' Shas MK blasted for racist comments towards Yesh Atid MK

"What national pride have you brought? An interior minister convicted of accepting bribes and sitting in jail?" MK Vladimir Beliak said, as Shas MKs yelled "Vodka, vodka" from the opposition benches.

By IDAN ZONSHINE
Shas MK Moshe Abutbul (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Shas MK Moshe Abutbul
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Shas MK Moshe Abutbul came under heavy criticism Tuesday evening after yelling at MK Vladimir Beliak of Yesh Atid - an Israeli of Russian origin - to "bring vodka! What about Vodka?" while the latter was making a speech about the state budget.

During his speech, Beliak mentioned artistic gymnast Artem Dolgopyat's recent gold medal win at the Olympics and an earlier debate that took place in the Knesset, in which one Shas MK said that "to be a Jew it is not enough to win a medal." 
Beliak said that "It is inconceivable. We are good at working, serving, paying taxes, bringing medals and pride to the country, but still not kosher enough for the lords of the country - the ultra-Orthodox parties."
"What national pride have you brought? An interior minister convicted of accepting bribes and sitting in jail?" Beliak said, referencing Shas leader Aryeh Deri's past convictions as Shas MKs yelled "vodka, vodka" from the opposition benches. 
"You were in power for 12 years, what have you done for the periphery and the weak? We are strengthening the healthcare system, something you haven't done," Beliak said, adding that "After the budget is approved, it will be cheaper to buy groceries at the supermarket."
MK Beliak shared the moment on Twitter, which brought forth a litany of condemnations from coalition members and journalists on social media. 
In an attempt to 'clarify' his statements, MK Abutbul tweeted back at Beliak, saying "I shouted vodka to MK Beliak who explained the "good" budget, which we disagree on. This is a cruel budget without compassion for the weak!!"
He continued, 'explaining' that "I said in the media: "We will see [Finance Minister Avigdor] Liberman and the Finance Ministry as heroes [once they] impose a tax on vodka and not on sugary drinks."
MK Abutbul added that "MK Beliak is trying to condemn this sentence that I said as allegedly personally harming the Russian population... let him enjoy himself!"

Beliak retweeted a screenshot of Abutbul's tweet, saying "I would've expected a member of the Shas Party - who for years fought against racism - would just answer "I'm sorry, I was wrong and I went too far."
Abutbul also later retweeted a journalist for the ultra-Orthodox news site Kikar HaShabbat, which referred to the incident as the "scandal of the impoverished Cossack," adding the hashtag #vodka.
 
Yesh Atid leader and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said of the incident that "the racist calls toward [MK Beliak] are a new and ugly low-point for an opposition that has gone off the rails." 

"All of Yesh Atid hugs MK Beliak and congratulates him for the wonderful work on the Finance Committee and in the Knesset plenum," Lapid said. 
Labor Party MKs Gilad Kariv and Naama Lazimi also condemned the statements by Abutbul.

"The racism that is repeatedly directed at Vladimir Beliak shocks me," Lazimi said, adding that "It is unbelievable how many who use issues of exclusion, discrimination and racism as political tools do not see their own hypocrisy. Shame."
Kariv chose to remind Abutbul of his election loss when he was mayor of Beit Shemesh, saying that he "Can understand why the residents of Beit Shemesh ousted this rude man from the mayoral office." 

"Why we were all punished with this racist and hateful man holding a chair in the Knesset - I still have a hard time understanding," he said, adding "To my friend, MK Beliak, continue and do not stop."
Another Shas MK, Michael Malkieli, also received criticism online for comments he made during Beliak's speech, when he, like referred to Beliak as being a member of the Yisrael Beyteinu Party, whose leader, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman, is also Russian-Israeli.
Yisrael Beyteinu condemned the attribution on Twitter, saying that "Opposition members continue to lament the so-called "white budget" and shout about racism and a 'second Israel,' while for them every "Russian" necessarily belongs, of course, to Yisrael Beyteinu. This is the face of the opposition today - shouting "vodka" at an MK who was born to immigrants from the Soviet Union. How good it is that we replaced you."



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