The Knesset will mark the 50th anniversary of the dedication of its permanent abode on Jan. 25, Tu BiShvat. The problem is that it is not at all certain that there is anything to celebrate. The elegant building on Givat Ram in Jerusalem, which was dedicated half a century ago as the home of the Jewish state’s legislature, is in a steady state of decline. It no longer has the trust of the public.

It was here that the country’s founders worked, and where Egyptian President Anwar Sadat gave his historic speech in 1977. Within these walls, the most fundamental laws of the nascent Israeli democracy were legislated, such as the Basic Law of Human Dignity and Liberty. Over the past few years, however, the Knesset has been looking more like an institution in a state of collapse and as if it has lost its conscience and moral compass.

The severity of the situation shines crystal clear in what has been happening in the Knesset over the past few days, mere moments before the much-lauded birthday.

Late on the night of Jan. 12, one of the most disturbing incidents in the history of the institution took place in the Knesset parking lot. Knesset member Oren Hazan (Likud) stood waiting for Knesset member Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin (Zionist Camp). As she walked to her car, he heckled her and called her “subhuman.”