Bahraini Lawmaker Who Burned Israeli Flag in Parliament Won’t Be Punished

Bahraini lawmaker burns flag in parliament (Photo from Gulf News)

While American lawmakers get attention with their impassioned speeches and threats of filibuster, one Bahraini politician chose a different tactic to not only gain attention, but also bolster his anti-Israel credentials. He burned an Israeli flag in the parliament building. For this you would expect he was censured for this by his peers, right? Apparently not.

Gulf News reports Member of Parliament Osama Al Tamimi escaped punishment Wednesday when his parliamentary peers voted against taking any action against him. Last week, Al Tamimi smuggled fuel into the parliament building and burned the flag to protest what he called the Israeli “aggression” in Gaza. The session had to briefly recess due to the smoke that filled the chamber.

Al Tamimi said he was trying to "send a clear message to the international community" about Bahrain's support for the people of Gaza.

His colleagues initially considered taking action against him not because he burned the Israeli flag – an occurrence seen frequently in the Muslim world - rather because he engaged in an attention-grabbing stunt.

Speaker Khalifa Al Dhahrani expressed concern the vote’s outcome would encourage negative practices.

MP Ahmad Al Saati said: “The outcome deprives the parliament of a constitutional tool to ensure the highest standards of behavior.”

Outside parliament, Bahrain has been clamping down on political demonstrations as its Sunni monarchy has been facing a Shiite-led uprising for the past two years.