knesset-cc-by-nc-fabcomMK Yousef Jabareen (The Joint List), Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel petitioned the Supreme Court on December 29, 2016 against the Expulsion Law, which stipulates that a Member of Knesset (MK) can be ousted from the parliament through a majority vote of 90 MKs, if the Knesset determines that the MK incited to racism or supported an armed struggle against Israel.
The petitioners claim that the law violates basic democratic and constitutional principles, including the right to vote and be elected, separation of powers, and the Arab minority’s right to representation and equality. The petitioners further claim that the purpose of the Expulsion Law is to restrict Arab MKs’ freedom of expression and political activity. According to the petitioners, the law allows implementation of the process to oust an MK when statements are made and actions are taken that are not supported by the majority, even they are not illegal. This level of authority, the petitioners claim, is undemocratic, enabling MKs from the political majority to judge their political opponents from the minority and quickly oust them.
The petition further claims that the new law is unnecessary, as an existing law already sets forth the option of ousting MKs convicted of crimes. According to the petitioners, the new law was intended to bypass a process of disqualifying candidates prior to elections; as such, those proposing the new law seek to legislate a process that the court barred as a result of fact checking. The petitioners also claim that the manner in which the Expulsion Law was passed (in its first reading with a regular majority, despite the required 61 MK majority) was invalid and therefore inapplicable.
MK Yousef Jabareen: “This law made us, the elected representatives of the Arab minority, ‘conditional MKs.’ The expulsion sword is constantly wielded over our heads by Knesset colleagues who oppose us politically. The law paves the way for the political transfer of elected Arab representatives and creates an atmosphere of incitement and persecution. This law will be taught in law faculties as an extreme example of the tyranny of the majority.”
