Ha'aretz is reporting that a ministerial panel has decided that a bill spearheaded by Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party to outlaw public commemoration of the Nakba in Israel can move on to the Knesset and cabinet for a vote. If the bill is passed, someone caught commemorating the Nakba could face up to three years in prison. MK Alex Miller, who introduced the bill, explained, "Every democratic country has the right to defend
itself, and that's exactly what the Israeli government has chosen to do
today."
Clearly not everyone in Israel agrees. Hadash Chairman Mohammed Barakeh stated the obvious, "Commemoration of the Nakba, which will continue regardless of this
bill, does not represent a threat to Israel's existence. It is a way to
mend past injuries inflicted upon the Palestinian people." And Israeli journalist Noam Sheizaf has a great post on it over on his blog. He sums it up, "the government of Israel has decided to make life easier for those who claim it is an Apartheid state (or just a Fascist one)."
