Ben-Ari hopes to bring 100 migrants to Knesset

National Union MK plans bring Sudanese, Eritrean nationals to dine with parliamentarians and “reveal hypocrisy.”

By LAHAV HARKOV
AFRICAN man watches migrant demonstration 370 (photo credit: Asaf Kliger/Israel Post)
AFRICAN man watches migrant demonstration 370
(photo credit: Asaf Kliger/Israel Post)
One hundred African migrants will visit the Knesset, according to a plan by MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) to “reveal left-wing hypocrisy.”
The National Union MK, who previously made headlines by bringing 40 Sudanese and Eritrean nationals who illegally entered the country to a swimming pool in a wealthy Tel Aviv neighborhood last summer, wrote a letter to Knesset Director-General Dan Landau asking to exercise his right as a parliamentarian to bring visitors to the Knesset.
“I turn to you in the name of residents of [poor] neighborhoods in south Tel Aviv that are bruised and abused,” Ben-Ari wrote. “As a mark of identification with these neighborhoods, I decided to invite 100 illegal infiltrators to the Knesset for an entire day.”
Ben-Ari plans to bring the migrants to the MK cafeteria, which is closed to most Knesset visitors, as well as to committee meetings. He also asked Landau to save them seats in the area of the plenum mezzanine saved for honored guests.
According to the National Union MK, hosting such a day is important for two reasons.
First, MKs will have a chance to meet migrants up close, without mediators, and “feel a little of what residents of neighborhoods invaded by illegal infiltrators feel.”
In addition, Ben-Ari wrote, bringing migrants to the Knesset is a humanitarian gesture, as some MKs say they are impoverished and starving.
“I want to give a practical exam on pluralism and accepting others for MKs like Nitzan Horowitz and Ilan Gilon [of Meretz] who support leaving infiltrators in Israel,” the National Union MK said. “I’m interested to see if those MKs would take groups of infiltrators home, or if they think mercy and human rights only come at the expense of residents of poor neighborhoods.”
Ben-Ari requested that Landau arrange the visit within two weeks, and that the visit be paid for by his budget as a MK.