January 25 – February 15 2011

Recent Anti-Democratic Legislation

January 25 | Citizenship Law, Amendment: Revocation of Citizenship for Persons Convicted of Terrorism or Espionage Bill

On January 25, an amended version of this bill was discussed in the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee. The committee rejected the suggested amendments and approved the bill for a first reading in the Knesset plenum.
 
The rejected amendments stated that it will not be permissible to leave a person without citizenship and that the decision to revoke citizenship will require the approval of the Attorney General. There is still no set date for the first reading of this bill in the Knesset plenum.
 

February 1 | Bill on Funding from Foreign State Entities

Tomorrow (Tuesday), the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee is expected to vote on the Bill on Funding from Foreign State Entities, in preparation for its second-third (i.e. final) reading in the Knesset plenum. ACRI’s position has been that, contrary to claims made by the promoters of this bill, it does not promote transparency: To promote transparency, a law must make the same demands from all organizations receiving foreign funding – be they foreign individuals or foreign state entities. Needless to say, ACRI and other human rights organizations currently provide full disclosure of their funding, in accordance with existing Israeli laws.
 
According to the original version of this bill, any person or group receiving funding from a foreign state entity must register with the Registrar of Parties, report each contribution immediately, mark every document in this spirit, and state at the opening of any remark they make that they are funded by a foreign state entity. After extensive lobbying and behind-the-scenes work, some parts of the bill have been changed and toned down. However, after further discussion of the bill, it is unclear at this point which of the original clauses will be included in the bill when it is discussed on Tuesday in the committee.
 

February 1 – February 2 | Parliamentary Committees of Inquiry

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Knesset House Committee is scheduled to discuss the details of establishing two separate but related parliamentary committees of inquiry: a parliamentary committee of inquiry to look into the funding of Israeli organizations “accused of working to prosecute IDF soldiers and officers abroad;” and a second committee to look into “the involvement of foreign governments and bodies in funding actions against the state and in attempts to purchase lands.” After details are finalized, the letters of appointment for the committees will be returned to the Knesset plenum for a final vote.
 
Following lobbying efforts by ACRI and others, who are concerned over the establishment of these politically-motivated inquiry committees, a growing number of Knesset factions decided to ban the committees and their future activities. The political parties that have already announced their opposition to the committees are Kadima, Labor, Meretz, Hadash, Balad, the Arab Democratic Party and the United Arab List. We will keep you updated as these dangerous legislative initiatives continue to unfold.
 

February 2 | Acceptance to Communities Bill

The Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee is scheduled to discuss the suggested amendments to the Acceptance to Communities Bill. According to this bill, admissions committees of villages and communities may turn down a candidate if the committee decides the candidate “fails to meet the fundamental views of the community,” fit its social fabric, and so on. The bill is primarily intended to deny Arab citizens of Israel the access to Jewish communities set up on predominantly public lands. It should be noted that before this bill was proposed, ACRI filed a related petition against this common practice, and a hearing in this case is coincidentally scheduled for Tuesday in the High Court of Justice.
 
As part of a proposed compromise between Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin and the MKs who proposed the law, possible amendments to the bill are likely to include applying the law only to the Negev and Galilee regions and only to communities of up to 400 family units (instead of the original 500). ACRI views both amendments as insufficient, leaving private citizens with the authority to grant state-owned lands at their own discretion, thus promoting continued discrimination of Arabs, new immigrants, single parents, same-sex couples, people with disabilities, and others.
 

Upcoming Legislation

Wednesday, February 2 | Expanding the Authorities of Municipal Inspectors and Private Security Guards

The Knesset Internal Affairs Committee will discuss a government decision to expand the authorities of municipal inspectors and private security guards “for the prevention of acts of violence.” If passed, this will grant inspectors and guards some of the powers given to police officers, such as demanding identification, searching without grounds for suspicion, entering private premises, preventing persons from entering premises, and using reasonable force in order to bring a person to a police station.
 

Tuesday, February 15 | Prohibition on Instituting a Boycott Bill

 
The Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee will discuss this bill in preparation for its first reading. According to this bill, persons who initiate, promote, or provide information to support a boycott may be ordered to compensate parties economically affected by it, including fixed reparations of 30,000 NIS, without an obligation to prove damages. Initially, the bill included clauses relating to foreign citizens and governments, as well as a one-year retroactive clause, but those were rejected by the Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs.
 

Success in the Spotlight

January 26 – January 30 | Inclusion of Nursing Care in the Healthcare Basket

 
On January 26, the Coalition for Including Nursing Care in the Healthcare Basket, of which ACRI is a member, held a Knesset conference on the benefits and risks of including nursing care in the healthcare basket. During this conference, the Deputy Minister of Health, Yaacov Litzman, announced that he will promote a bill on the matter before the end of this year. On January 30, the Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs decided to support a private bill to include nursing care in the healthcare basket. The preliminary reading of this bill is scheduled for February 1, and with government support it will most likely be approved in the plenum. This is an important step in correcting a historical wrong, which affects thousands of lower and middle class families.