Marciano: Discipline me if you see fit

Labor MK apologizes to Knesset for his part in a brawl with security guards at a Herzliya club last week.

By SHEERA CLAIRE FRENKEL , REBECCA ANNA STOIL
MarcianoYoram 224 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
MarcianoYoram 224
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
MK Yoram Marciano (Labor) submitted a complaint to the Knesset Ethics Committee on Sunday - against himself. Following his involvement in a bar brawl in Herzliya on Wednesday night, in which he allegedly attacked security guards and received several blows in return, Marciano expressed regret for his actions and apologized for damaging the honor of the institution.
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  • Analysis: The Knesset's scandalous Purimspiel He also called on the Ethics Committee to take disciplinary action against him, if they saw fit. Marciano's complaint stressed that he had acted innocently, and that most of the media reports of his behavior that night were exaggerated. Marciano's lawyer, Eldad Yaniv, said the lawmaker wrote that he apologized "wholeheartedly to the security company and its staff." "My client apologizes from the heart to the Knesset, its members, and to the Knesset Speaker and acting President [Dalia Itzik]," Yaniv wrote in the letter. "My client requests that you issue a punishment against him immediately should you deem it appropriate," Marciano's lawyer said in the letter. Last week, Marciano attended a party at the Rio nightclub in Herzliya celebrating the birthday of a Knesset official. There are varying reports of what actually happened during the confrontation between Marciano and security guards at the club. According to a police complaint filed by Marciano, the incident started when he tried to leave through a rear door that is no longer used as an exit, and was apprehended by security guards. According to a report filed by one of the security guards, Marciano struck out at the guards and shouted at them that they were mistreating a public official. Allegations also emerged that Marciano sexually harassed a number of young women at the party. He vehemently denied the accusations, calling them "baseless." Meanwhile, Labor MK Danny Yatom said he would demand that Marciano explain his "shameful behavior" to the party's faction. On Sunday, police confirmed that the case had been sent for review by Cmdr. Yohanan Danino, head of the Investigations and Intelligence Division of the Israel Police. Danino, who is known for his tough stance toward errant public officials, is said to be reviewing the file to decide whether the police should continue with a criminal investigation against Marciano. Danino's office refused to offer a time frame for his decision, but most likely the review will not take more than a few days. Until Sunday, the case was being investigated by the Glilot Station of the Tel Aviv Police.