Netanyahu Orders Expulsion of Likud Member for Holocaust Mockery

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, issued an order on Sunday, July 16, to expel a member of the Likud party for mocking the Holocaust. According to Reuters, Itzik Zarka, a Likud member, in a video posted on social media, addressed opponents of the judicial changes proposed by Netanyahu, stating: 'It is not in vain that six million were killed. I am proud that six million of you burned.' Netanyahu, in a statement regarding Zarka's dismissal, who has been a prominent figure in Likud's election campaigns for years, said: 'We do not tolerate such shameful behavior in the Likud movement.' It appears that Zarka's remarks distinguished between European Jews and Mizrahi Jews from the Middle East, who form the traditional core of support for the conservative Likud party. Some members of Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition government see his insistence on revising the country's judicial structure as compensating for the presence of Ashkenazi Jews, or European-descended Jews, in the country's elite levels. Mizrahi Jews make up nearly half of Israel's Jewish majority and complain of discrimination and social and economic harms. However, due to their widespread intermarriage with Ashkenazis, statistical separation is very difficult. Holocaust denial, questioning its dimensions, or celebrating it is punishable by five years in prison under Israeli law. Zarka's comments have been condemned by various political factions. Prince Reza Pahlavi's visit to Israel to commemorate Holocaust victims and convey a message of friendship from Iranians; the resumption of discussions on 'judicial reforms' in Israel; a Hollywood figure testified against Netanyahu; the Israeli government denied the role of 'Mossad' in protests against Netanyahu; Netanyahu: 'I will not allow Iran to throw a 'rope of terror' around Israel'; Netanyahu suspended the process of approving 'reforms' to prevent a 'civil war.'