Tabled by: MK Uri Ariel (National Union).
This bill seeks to prohibit the use of the word “Nazi” or similar-sounding words, epithets associated with Nazism and the Third Reich, and symbols related to the Nazis or to the Holocaust.
According to ACRI, freedom of expression means the right to say difficult things that might be even hurtful. It means the right to give bold and extreme expression to positions, feelings, and thoughts, and also includes the right to make rhetorical use of provocative and harsh images. The question of the social legitimacy of the use of Holocaust symbolism in the public and political discourse is indeed a big question, which deserves a robust and free public debate; it is not a question that should be handled through criminal law.
This bill was approved by the Ministerial Committee on Legislation on 9 January 2012. Following the backing of this law by the Ministerial Committee, ACRI sent a letter to the Minister of Justice, Yaakov Neeman, and to the committee members, urging them to act in order to stop this bill.
In this letter, ACRI notes that it is precisely because of the importance and gravity of the Holocaust that the attempt to dictate how and in what contexts it can be discussed is particularly egregious. This bill aims to forcibly control the public discourse in Israel, its content, and its tone – by way of criminal prohibitions and threats of detention.
14 November 2011: Bill has been tabled.
9 January 2012: The Ministerial Committee on Legislation voted to support this bill.
Status: Bill passed its preliminary reading, currently not promoted.
