Far Left MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash) called new Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Maj.-Gen. (res.) David Zini a dangerous jihadist who wants eternal war in an interview on the Knesset channel earlier this week.
"We are talking about a dangerous man," Cassif commented, expanding that, in his view, Zini wants an "eternal war, he wants jihad, he is a jihadist!"
"He is a dangerous, extremist individual," Cassif added.
The interviewer questioned Cassif on his allegations, asking if he believes that Zini could order people to commit terror acts such as beheading babies, referencing the horrors of Hamas's October 7 massacre.
"I believe he could...I believe that about him and he's not the only one, we do not even need to look that far, there are plenty of MKs and ministers who said [similar]," Cassif answered.
The interviewer asserts that Cassif's imagination is "going to wild places," in response to which he invokes Albert Einstein and thanks her for attributing him with a vivid imagination.
She then stated that she was "trying to see how far [Cassif's] imagination will go."
Einstein once was quoted as saying that "imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand."
Cassif has a history of controversial comments
Cassif has been part of several controversies during his political career, especially since the start of the Israel-Hamas War.
This has included the signing of a petition in support of South Africa's move in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, which a deputy attorney-general ruled was not an impeachable offense in January 2024.
However, the Knesset in February 2024 held a vote to impeach Cassif for his signature, with 85 MKs voting in favor of his removal, five short of the 90 votes required.
Cassif was expelled from the Knesset for six months on November 11, 2024 for accusing the IDF of committing war crimes, following a decision by the Knesset Ethics Committee, as well as for his signing of South Africa's genocide petition to the ICJ. His pay was also withheld for two weeks.
During US President Donald Trump's speech to the Knesset plenum, Cassif, along with Hadash party chief Ayman Odeh, were ousted from the hall for shouting "terrorist" at Trump and holding up signs that read "Recognize Palestine," while Trump was praising special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Cassif said that the pair "didn't come to disturb, but to demand justice."
Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.