(???)

Knesset approves initial bill criminalizing anyone who denies Israel as a Jewish State

 Thursday May 28, 2009 00:55 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies 

On Wednesday, the Israeli Knesset approved in the first reading a bill that would criminalize publically denying Israel as a Jewish State, and that such denial would be punished by up to a year in prison.

Reprinted from a Photobucket blog

The  bill is one of several similar bills presented by right-wing members of Knesset demanding racist laws that denies the very existence of the Arabs and Palestinians in their homeland.

The bill wants all Israeli citizens, including Arabs and Palestinians, to recognize Israel as a “Jewish Democratic State”.

Any act or publication that denies Israel’s “identity” as a Jewish State would be considered as an issue that would cause “acts of hatred and disloyalty”.

 The bill was approved by 47 members of Knesset, while 34 voted against it, and Knesset spokesperson, Reuven Rivlin, from the Likud party, abstained.

 The controversial bill was first presented by extremist right wing member of Knesset, Zevulun Orlev, of the Bayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home) party.

 The new bill needs to pass three more votes at the Knesset and a committee review before it becomes a law, Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported.

Orlev proposed this law linking it to former member of Knesset, Azmi Bishara, who resigned from the Knesset and left the country in 2007.

Bishara is facing charges of what Israel calls “assisting the enemy” because he visited Lebanon and Syria.

 Meanwhile, member of Knesset Haim Oron of the Meretz party, strongly denounced the bill and said that it is considered as “creating thought police”.

On Sunday, the Knesset passed a bill outlawing marking the Nakba, which is when the Palestinians were forced out of their homeland so that Israeli can be created.

The bill was denounced by Naomi Chazan, head of the New Israeli Fund. He said that this bill crushes the feelings of Palestinians who lost their lands, and harms the efforts to achieve co-existence.

 Several Civil Rights organizations in Israel said that such a bill could harm the rights of Arab citizens.

Furthermore, a bill introduced this week by Israel’s Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, of the extremist Yisrael Beiteinu Party, required the Arabs to pledge loyalty to Israel as a Jewish State before they can obtain identity cards and citizenship.

source:http://www.imemc.org