July 11 – July 20 2011
Recent Anti-Democratic Legislation
July 11 | Preventing Harm to the State of Israel by Means of Boycott
On 11 July 2011, the Knesset plenum passed the Anti-Boycott Law, which enables the filing of civil lawsuits against those who call for a boycott of the State of Israel or any of its territories (e.g. Israeli settlements). The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) is strongly opposed to this unconstitutional law, and will therefore file a petition against it to the Israeli High Court of Justice demanding to disqualify this law. At the same time, ACRI is reviewing ways to protect Israeli individuals who will realize their constitutional right for freedom of expression, on any matter, and will be subsequently sued for damages.
To read the final version of the law (translated to English), click here.
To read ACRI’s Q&A page, explaining the legal implications of this law, click here.
New York Times editorial, 17 July 2011: “Not Befitting a Democracy”
July 13 | Approval of Supreme Court Justices by the Knesset Constitution Committee
On July 13, the Chairperson of the Knesset House Committee, MK Yariv Levin (Likud), and the Chairperson of the Coalition, MK Ze’ev Elkin (Likud), submitted a private bill that seeks to enable the Knesset to veto appointments Supreme Court Justices.
The bill states that every judge and president appointed to the Supreme Court would have to undergo a hearing in the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, which can then veto the appointment. Currently, only the 3 representatives of the Supreme Court in the Judicial Selection Committee can veto an appointment. Furthermore, the bill seeks to cancel the “seniority” method, according to which the longest serving justice in the Supreme Court is automatically appointed as president once the previous president retires.
The bill came in response to public statements made by various Israeli NGOs, including ACRI, that they plan to petition the High Court demanding to disqualify the Anti-Boycott Law on the grounds that it is unconstitutional, and following statements by Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein and the Knesset Legal Advisor Eyal Yinon, who said that the new law would be difficult to defend in the High Court.
The bill has raised fierce opposition from many Knesset factions, including criticism from the Prime Minister, and is not likely to be currently promoted.
July 17 | Monetary Limitations on Foreign Funding for NGOs
The Ministerial Committee on Legislation was scheduled to re-discuss a private bill, proposed by MK Ofir Akunis (Likud), which attempts to set monetary limitations on Israeli human rights organizations. According to this bill, an Israeli NGO that seeks to influence state policies would not be allowed to receive donations of more than 20,000 NIS (approximately $6000) from foreign state entities.
However, the committee again postponed this discussion. The Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu postponed it in order to quiet down the local and international outrage following the approval of the Anti-Boycott Law.
A similar bill, which seeks to amend the Income Tax Order so that funding from foreign state entities will be subject to a 45% taxation rate, was put on hold a few days prior to that by its promoter, MK Fania Kirshenbaum (Yisrael Beitenu). MK Kirshenbaum announced that she will postpone the bill until the parliamentary committees of inquiry, which are supposed to look into the foreign funding of Israeli NGOs (see below), will finish their investigation.
However, should the parliamentary committees of inquiry not be approved, there is a great chance that both of the abovementioned legislative initiatives will be raised again.
To read the current version of the Akunis Bill, click here.
To read the current version of the Kirshenbaum Bill, click here.
Upcoming Anti-Democratic Legislation
July 20 | Parliamentary Committees of Inquiry
Last week, the Yisrael Beitenu party announced its intention to raise the parliamentary committees of inquiry for a final vote in the plenum next week. These two separate parliamentary committees, intended to investigate the foreign funding of Israeli human rights organizations, were proposed by MK Fania Kirschenbaum (Yisrael Beitenu) and MK Danny Danon (Likud), and approved by the Knesset House Committee in January.
The final vote in the plenum is currently scheduled for this Wednesday, July 20, but this date might still change. The Prime Minister has announced that he will allow freedom of vote on this matter to the members of the government coalition, further decreasing the chances that the committees will be approved in the plenum.
According to ACRI, A parliamentary committee of inquiry, whose purpose is investigating civil society organizations, is essentially a show trial run by politicians and targeting NGOs that do not match their political views. Furthermore, Existing legislation already regulates the transparency of donations and their reporting, and even specifically relates to donations from foreign state entities. These committees of inquiry are yet another step in the slew of anti-democratic legislation being promoted in the current Knesset, and specifically bills that target Israeli human rights organizations.
For ACRI’s briefing on parliamentary committees of inquiry, how they work, and a summary of ACRI’s position on the currently proposed committees, click here.
For a public statement made by 28 Israeli civil society organizations, including ACRI, following the return of the vote on the parliamentary committees, click here.
In the Spotlight
The Affordable Housing Crisis
You might have heard about the recent and ongoing tent protest, which started in Tel Aviv and quickly expanded. Last Thursday, dozens of people pitched their tents at a central square in Tel Aviv, in protest of the soaring housing prices; hundreds of others quickly followed, pitching tents in other parts of Israel.
This justified protest comes as no surprise to anyone who has been following updates from ACRI. In recent years, Israeli housing policies have changed beyond recognition, with the dominant trend being to shirk responsibility and privatize: reduced assistance to apartment buyers, privatization of the mortgage market, cutbacks in rental assistance for disadvantaged populations, and the elimination of public housing.
In the past year, ACRI has been working to promote a reform to the Planning and Building Law, which has been in place almost since the founding of the State of Israel. ACRI and other members of the Coalition for Affordable Housing in Israel are advancing amendments that focus on social and economic rights, including equal representation in planning committees, public participation, transparency, and the inclusion of representatives of social rights organizations in planning committees.
