Simply astonishing. The continuing crisis. Here is a list of the 14 worst--most undemocratic-- bills in the Knesset, compiled and commented upon by ACRI, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel:
1) Knesset Members Declaration of Allegiance Bill (MK David Rotem, Yisrael Beitenu): Members of Knesset would be obliged to declare allegiance to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, its laws, symbols, and anthem. The bill would essentially delegitimize and exclude minority groups from participating in Israeli democracy.
2) Preventing High Court from Ruling on "Citizenship Law" Bill (MK David Rotem and 44 additional MKs): This attempts to bypass the High Court as an independent judicial authority with regards to the Citizenship Law, which the Court has yet to abolish.
3) Constitutional Court Bill (MK David Rotem): An explicit attempt to delegitimize the Supreme Court by establishing an alternative judicial authority.
4) Nakba Bill (MK Alex Miller, Yisrael Beitenu): Anybody marking the establishment of the State as a day of mourning ("Nakba", catastrophe in Arabic, is the term used by some Palestinian Israelis to denote the anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel) will be denied public funding.
Such legislation constitutes a violation of freedom of expression in which the majority is attempting to silence a particular political position.
5) Prohibition of Incitement Bill (MK Zevulun Orlev, Habayit Hayehudi-New National Religious Party): The existing prohibition on incitement would be expanded to include a rejection of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.
6) Declaration of Allegiance for Citizens Bill (MK David Rotem): Every citizen would have to declare allegiance to Israel as a Jewish, democratic, and Zionist state, and perform military or civic (national) service.
7) Acceptance to Communities Bill (MKs David Rotem, Israel Hasson and Shai Hermesh, Kadima): Endorsement of community admissions committees to reject candidates who do not match the community's worldview.
8) String of draft bills proposed by the cabinet, aiming to limit the opposition's power in the Knesset, among them: seven MKs would be able to split from a faction and form a new faction, instead of 40 (one-third of the Knesset); increase the majority needed to approve a budgetary draft bill to 55; if a prime minister cannot form a government after a vote of no-confidence, the previous, failed parliament would once again be instated; and more.
9) Foreign State Funding Bill (MK Zeev Elkin, Likud, and additional MKs): A number of strict measures would be taken to limit foreign funding of Israeli non-profit organizations. The bill was strategically designed to target certain organizations of a certain political bent and human rights organizations in an attempt to control the actions of Israeli civil society.
10) Pardon for Disengagement Protesters Bill (MK Reuven Rivlin, Likud, and additional MKs): Though legislation acknowledging the right to political protest is welcome, this particular bill, granting pardons to individuals who were prosecuted for various protest acts against the disengagement from Gaza in 2005, favors a specific political-ideological group because of the Knesset majority's need to placate its constituents. Instead legislation should be general for all cases in which pardons for political activity are acceptable.
11) Prevention of Infiltration Bill (Cabinet): Among other clauses, this draft law would render infiltration punishable with 5-7 years of imprisonment including those who assist the infiltrator. The bill aims to delegitimize civil society and refugee aid associations.
12) Boycott Prohibition Bill (MK Zeev Elkin and additional MKs): Anyone who initiates, advances or publicizes material which serves as a basis for a boycott of Israel would be prosecuted for a criminal offense and would be forced to pay damages to those who suffered from the boycott. Any foreigner who does so will be prohibited from entering Israel for 10 years.
13) Revocation of Citizenship for Individuals Found Guilty of Treason or Terrorism Bill (MK David Rotem): Citizenship is a basic right and revoking it in such cases would consequently violate other related rights. Israel's legal system has ample laws aimed at dealing with individuals found guilty of terrorism or treason.
14) Film Bill (MK Michael Ben Ari, Ichud Leumi): Public funding of films would be conditioned on a declaration of loyalty to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state by the film's entire staff.
Phil, this time your dissent has (once again) gone too far. Why do you always
ignore the fact that Israel is a tiny nation surrounded always by those millions who naturally want to push it into the sea? So it has always been; those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.
tsk tsk. phil’s so bad, let’s revoke his citizenship.
next we will revoke his ethnicity!
According to Witty, they’re one and the same.
Wow, Citizen, that’s exactly what I was thinking as I read it! This place has turned into bad news about Israel, 24/7. Almost as if there was a crisis there! It is to laugh! There’s just a few tenacious little problems, which will be solved in due time. After all, would God let anything really bad happen to a Zionist endeavor? Of course not! He was simply waiting until we helped ourselves to help us!
Wondering jew lives in Jerusalem. How many of these “reforms” do you suppose the people he voted for, voted for?
He did claim once that he resides in Jerusalem, but I don’t believe him.
why do they call them islamo-fascists, when they are the fascists with the list to prove it? It may be a tactic, call your enemy something worse that what you are doing (brand them first).
It could be a new style of government forming in Israel.
I’ve never heard of democratic fascism, but it’s beginning to take root. Fascist governments forbid and suppress opposition and clearly this is what is happening.
“14) Film Bill (MK Michael Ben Ari, Ichud Leumi): Public funding of films would be conditioned on a declaration of loyalty to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state by the film’s entire staff.”
Geez, I thought it was Muslims that do not like ‘freedom’ and abhor freedom of speech….let’s go draw some cartoons!!!!
“7) Acceptance to Communities Bill (MKs David Rotem, Israel Hasson and Shai Hermesh, Kadima): Endorsement of community admissions committees to reject candidates who do not match the community’s worldview. ”
….reminds me of some “other” places outside of Israel….and this is called a ‘democracy’?
Pity the democratic nations. Dictatorships rule.
Not a great year for progressive legislation in Israel
“Not a great year for progressive legislation in Israel”
I’m glad you noticed!….For once..
Careful Witty! You’ll delegitimize Israel!
Careful, Witty, you’re walking that fine line between rational two-eyed dissent and
caving into the one-eyed monsters of words that cannot see honest self-governing in the long-term interests of world humanism.
Maybe you should give Penny Pritzker a call to get the scoop–as Obama did:
link to electronicintifada.net
“progressive legislation”
Sure Witty, that’s all that’s wrong, Israel isn’t quite progressive enough for Abbie Hoffman’s babysitter.
Carefull, Mooser, you’re treading on a family icon.
That’s false.
I’m perplexed as to how that “definition” made it on this website.
Nakbah (Transliterated from Arabic, with an ‘H’ in the end) is the term used by Palestinians, as a collective, to denote the mass expulsions, dispossession, those made refugees, massacres and ethnic cleansing of 1947/48, culminating in the establishment of a state by those — and exclusively for those — who carried out these crimes, a devastating coup de grâce.
The canard that the Nakbah denotes the anniversary of the establishment of the state, as though the Palestinians are inherently anti-Semitic, is Israeli hasbara.
“4) Nakba Bill (MK Alex Miller, Yisrael Beitenu): Anybody marking the establishment of the State as a day of mourning (“Nakba”, catastrophe in Arabic, is the term used by some Palestinian Israelis to denote the anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel) will be denied public funding.”
God, it’s like suffering the death of a loved one and not being allowed to go to the funeral.
Not quite sure what to make of this post. I don’t necessarily think that Knesset Members are somehow immune from introducing stupid, backwards legislation. Jesse Helms was said to have been a master of introducing controversal, right wing legislation that never had any chance of getting passed but played well with his base. The real question is what are the chances of such legislation ever actually being passed and actually becoming law?
howard – “what are the chances of such legislation ever actually being passed”
Quite high. 1. Jesse Helms would be a very moderate, left-wing member, 2. Look at the Zohrabi vote if you say they wouldn’t dare, 3. The pressure on Israel obliges them to drop the mask and have open Nazism.
And anyway, none of these new comedy items is as offensive or as “antidemocratic” than the initial declaration of a “Jewish state” in the first place.
“Simply astonishing. The continuing crisis. Here is a list of the 14 worst–most undemocratic– bills in the Knesset, compiled and commented upon by ACRI, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel:”
One can just see those goatsods all raising their right arms and shouting sieg heil after their votes on these….er, “bills”.
Loyalty oaths? Revocation of citizenship? Prosecution of citizens for speech?
Bibi now only needs to find a mentally impaired Dutchman to burn down the Knesset, so he can get that state of emergency he’s hankering after.
History repeats itself, first as tragedy and then as farce.
Even the World Zionist Congress denounces a lot of these measures:
link to haaretz.com