Sigmund Freud may have been chuckling this week as Knesset members grappled with a momentous issue: does the Knesset need the services of a psychiatrist? The ensuing discussion and repartee had all the makings of a therapy session as a number of Knesseters let their unconscious repressed hostilities and anxieties all hang out.
The discussion was sparked by a suggestion by Likud Knesseter Pesach Grupper to appoint a psychiatrist to visit the Knesset once a week. The suggestion was evidently well intentioned. As Grupper saw it, a psychiatrist could help soothe the overworked and frayed nerves of the representatives of the people. Some of his colleagues, however, felt that Grupper was expressing doubts about their emotional stability.
Amnon Lin declared: “I suggest that it be decided immediately if Knesseter Pesach Grupper needs psychiatric treatment. The Knesset committee will take care of the expenses.” Rejecting Lin’s proposal as a case of projection, Grupper replied: “I am sorry Lin was personally offended by the suggestion. Perhaps he really needs a psychiatrist.”
Chaim Barlev of the Labor Alignment, observed: “This is a suggestion whose motives should be looked into by a psychiatrist.” Akiva Noff of the Democratic Movement for Change, opined: “This is the beginning of a new road. Next we will have masseurs in the Knesset.” Hillel Seidel of Likud, said: “I have a family relative who is a psychiatrist and comes to visit me here anyway once a week.”
Samuel Flatto Sharon, who recently opened a free medical service for the needy, suggested that the service be extended to the Knesseters. Assaf Yaguri of the DMC suggested group therapy rather than individual therapy. Health Minister Eliezer Shostak said he couldn’t understand why the Knesset was wasting its time on this subject. “Why don’t you raise it with my ministry?” he asked.
Grupper won unexpected support from Yossi Sarid of the Alignment, who suggested that psychiatric services be extended to Cabinet ministers. In addition, he offered what may have been the most practical of all observations: “Finally we will have a good sofa to lie on in the Knesset.”
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