June 27 – July 10 2011
Recent Anti-Democratic Legislation
June 27 | Preventing Harm to the State of Israel by Means of Boycott
On June 27, the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee approved the Anti- Boycott Bill (initially called Prohibition on Instituting a Boycott) for its final reading in the plenum. The version of the bill that was approved is an even more extended and harmful one, and includes a list of sanctions that may harm NGOs and public companies, such as the loss of tax exemptions and the loss of eligibility for benefits afforded by various laws. In the new version, calling for consumer boycott against companies that are involved in the occupation is no longer a criminal offense but rather a civil wrong.
Following the approval of this bill by the committee, the Executive Director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), Hagai El-Ad, stated: “Why should Israeli citizens be allowed to boycott Israeli cottage cheese, as we have heard and seen in recent weeks, but be barred from boycotting the occupation? This bill is politically motivated, and unfortunately it is not the only bill promoted in Knesset these days that stands in contradiction to democratic values. A boycott by consumers is a legitimate tool of protest and falls within the protection of freedom of expression.”
There is currently no date set yet for the final plenum reading of this bill, although it is likely to be brought for vote before the end of this Knesset seat.
To download the English translation of the current version of the bill, click here.
June 27 | Imposing Costs of Administrative Demolition on the Home Owner
On June 27, a “softened” version of this bill was approved by the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee for its final reading in the plenum. According to this bill, proposed by MK Fania Kirshenbaum (Yisrael Beitenu), the cost of an administrative demolition of a structure will be automatically imposed on the owners of the structure, with no judicial review.
ACRI, together with Bimkom: Planners for Planning Rights, submitted a position paper to the committee, stating that in such an extreme procedure, when there is no judicial review and there is no option for the owners to demolish the structure themselves (which is usually a much cheaper procedure), it is unreasonable to impose the cost on the owners. Furthermore, this legislation could give the administrative authorities an unbalanced free pass to demolish structures, including homes of structurally disadvantaged communities such as Bedouins in unrecognized villages and Palestinians in East Jerusalem.
The softened version of the bill, which was approved for a second-third reading, states that the court will decide whether the cost should be imposed on the owners and will also decide on the amount – adding necessary judicial balances.
June 28 | Police Officers with Hidden Name Tags
In the past few months, ACRI has seen a concerning increase in incidents of police officers hiding their name tags and even wearing masks during the dispersal of demonstrations – not because of any risk to them but rather to avoid complaints about violent conduct. Officers wearing masks or failing to produce name tags instill fear in demonstrators, thereby creating a “chilling effect” on freedom of expression and freedom of protest and harming the basic foundations of democracy.
A proposed amendment to the Police Ordinance, requiring police officers to wear name tags, was approved in its first reading in the plenum on June 28. According to this private bill – proposed by MK Uri Ariel (National Union), MK Dov Khenin (Hadash), and MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) – police officers will be required to wear name tags in any activity in which doing so does not risk them, such as political demonstrations and assemblies.
Upcoming Anti-Democratic Legislation
July 6 | Expanding the Authorities of Municipal Inspectors and Private Security Guards
On Wednesday, 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.”
This decision is being debated in the committee for a few months now. If passed, it 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.
July 10 | Monetary Limitations on Foreign Funding for NGOs
On July 10, the Ministerial Committee on Legislation is expected to re-discuss two private bills, which both attempt to set monetary limitations on Israeli human rights organizations. The date for this discussion might still change in the next few days.
According to the first bill, proposed by MK Ofir Akunis (Likud), an Israeli NGO would not be allowed to receive donations of more than 20,000 NIS (approximately $6000) from foreign state entities. The original version of the bill would have affected research institutes, hospitals, education and culture institutions, and human rights organizations – which is why it was rejected. However, MK Akunis has now presented a modified version, which specifically targets human rights and political organizations.
According to the second bill, proposed by MK Fania Kirshenbaum (Yisrael Beitenu), the Income Tax Order will be amended so that funding from foreign state entities will be subject to a 45% taxation rate. In the explanation of this bill, MK Kirshenbaum states: “Several organizations that operate in Israel aim at defaming the State of Israel in the eyes of the world and encourage the persecution of IDF officers and soldiers while harming their reputation. These organizations, which often refer to themselves as ‘human rights organizations,’ are funded by states and other obscure sources that only intend to harm and alter Israel’s political discourse from within.” The bill specifically targets NGOs, by stating that organizations that receive funding from the State of Israel shall not be subject to this bill and may preserve their tax exempt status.
To read the current version of the Akunis Bill, click here.
To read the current version of the Kirshenbaum Bill, click here.
In the Spotlight
July 4 | Privatizations of Healthcare in Schools
Today, the Knesset Labor, Welfare, and Health Committee discussed the privatization of healthcare services in Israeli schools and the problematic reports regarding the performance of the private company that was chosen to provide these services.
ACRI has submitted a position paper to the committee, stating that it is strongly opposed to the continued privatization of student healthcare, and calling on the Ministries of Health and Finance to return this service to the authority of the Ministry of Health. ACRI’s position is that such an important service must remain in the hands of the state, and that privatization of healthcare harms socio-economically disadvantaged communities and those living in the peripheries.
ACRI calls on the Ministries of Health and Finance to terminate its contract with the private company chosen to provide healthcare services in schools, to return student healthcare to the Ministry of Health, and to return the school nurses to Israeli schools.
