The Canadian delegation was shocked by the uncivilized behavior of loud-mouthed Israeli Arab member of Knesset, and worst of all, a blatant liar.

By Israel Today Staff

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit is the gift that just keeps on giving.

Aside from his public and unwavering stance in support of Israel, and his refusal to be tricked into unfairly singling out the Jewish state for criticism, Harper’s visit has provided the backdrop for one or two amusing political episodes, as well.

Arab Knesset Member Ahmed Tibi, hater of all things “Zionist,”, expresses a ‘right’ not available to Palestinians in a dozen Muslim countries.

Most notable was Arab Knesset member Ahmed Tibi’s outbursts before and during Harper’s address to Israel’s parliament.

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was introducing Harper, he noted that the Knesset is the only place in the Middle East where representatives of all sectors of society can speak their mind freely.

Unable to contain himself, Tibi, a vociferous hater of all things “Zionist,” shouted out against Netanyahu, and pointed to his colleague, MK Taleb a-Sanaa, whose village Tibi claimed is without electricity and running water.

It was unclear what Tibi’s accusation had to do with what Netanyahu had been saying (though his outburst very much proved the prime minister’s point), but an Israeli NGO decided to check it out, anyway.

In video posted to YouTube, Regevim interjected Tibi’s rant with footage from a-Sanaa’s village in the south of the country, showing clearly that it has electricity. Oh, and that a-Sanaa has a really big house.

Later, when Harper himself was speaking, Tibi and another Arab colleague heckled the Canadian leader when he insisted that it was wrong to label Israel as an apartheid state. Tibi again made the claim that local Arabs live substandard lives before telling Harper that he should go sit with Netanyahu’s Likud faction.

Tibi and his colleague then conspicuously got up and walked out of the plenum.

Canadian Minister of Employment Jason Kenney said many in the Canadian delegation were shocked by the display.

“A lot of us were a bit taken aback that members of a national parliament would heckle a visiting foreign leader,” he told The Times of Israel.

Watch the video of Tibi’s initial outburst against Netanyahu, and the prime minister’s skillful handling of the situation:

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