Here in Israel we are less than a week before another round of elections and if polls are right, there’s nothing much to look forward to. More of the same or even worse. 

Seeing as the Babylonian Talmud teaches that “prophesy is given to fools,” I won’t give you my forecast of how bad things will really turn out.

I will, however, venture to predict that the next Knesset will be sullied by the presence of two ignominious personalities – one new in this arena, the other continuing. While Baruch Marzel and Hanin Zoabi could not be more further apart in their world views, our parliament would be better off with neither of them. 

Whether as a symbol of the strength of Israel’s democracy, rather than its weaknesses – I’ll let you decide – our Supreme Court recently overturned decisions disqualifying their candidacies.

Born in Boston, Marzel grew up in Israel and lives with his family in Tel Rumeida, one of Hebron’s Jewish enclaves. An ultra-nationalist, he was a prominent supporter of Rabbi Meir Kahane. Anti-LGBT and anti Jewish-Arab intermarriage, he and his cohorts are regular fixtures demonstrating against Jerusalem’s annual gay pride parade and at celebrations of mixed marriages. 

Last May, he demonstrated against Pope Francis’ visit to Mount Zion and every year he celebrates the actions of another American-born Baruch, Baruch Goldstein, who massacred 29 Muslim worshipers in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron during Purim 1994. He supports deporting all disloyal Arabs from all parts of the Land of Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza.  

Marzel will get into the Knesset having teamed up with Eli Yishai, who broke off from the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox Shas party because of infighting within that party since its spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, died in 2013. Marzel is a blemish on Yishai and on his new party, and he will bring nothing but dishonour and disgrace to the already not so hallowed halls of the Knesset.

Much to his chagrin, he will be joined in those failures by Zoabi, who’s well ensconced in the middle of the new united list representing all three major Arab parties. 

Zoabi, a Muslim native of Nazareth, has been an MK since 2009, representing the Balad party. Balad believes Israel should cease being a Jewish state, to be replaced by one that is binational and democratic in nature. In that vein, she exits Knesset chambers during any singing of Hatikvah, stating this is neither her anthem nor her hope. 

In 2010 she achieved particular notoriety upon joining the flotilla of Turkish ships trying to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza. She was on board the Mavi Marmara when Israeli naval commandos stormed that ship and during the ensuing violence which left nine passengers dead. 

Last July, soon after Palestinians kidnapped three Israeli teenagers hitchhiking in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, (and before it was known they’d been killed) Zoabi expressed understanding for the kidnappers, stating: “Is it strange that people living under occupation and living impossible lives, in a situation where Israel kidnaps new prisoners every day, is it strange that they kidnap? They are not terrorists. Even if I do not agree with them, they are people who do not see any way to change their reality, and they are compelled to use means like these.”

Zoabi is much less concerned with the risk of Iran attaining nuclear weapon capabilities than with the existing risk of Israel wielding such capabilities. 

Both Marzel and Zoabi are firebrands who’ll add more colour to the Knesset than any true content; they’ll use their parliamentary immunity to do more damage than any sort of benefit. 

While freedom of expression is a cornerstone of any democracy, democracies must protect themselves from misuse of such freedoms. The next Knesset should legislate airtight provisions ensuring Marzel and Zoabi and those similar to them won’t get into parliament next time round.