Hadash Knesset members skip traditional photo in front of Israeli seal and flags

Hadash leader Ayman Odeh, as well as the most prominent Arab party’s sole Jewish Knesset member, Ofer Cassif, refused to be photographed in front of Israel’s official seal and flags, breaking with tradition for lawmakers ahead of the parliament’s inauguration.

In a video, a Knesset usher leads Odeh to a room with the seal and flags. Then, when the photographers asked him to come in for a picture, he waves them off and walks away.

Odeh has a history of anti-Israel actions. In July, he refused to condemn Hezbollah as a terrorist group during a Channel 13 interview, instead denouncing Israel’s “occupation” as the chief source of terrorism in the region.