Greetings from McCarthy
Legislation against un-Israeli solidarity

by Hans Lebrecht (Kibbutz Beit-Oren)

New legislation to outlaw and punish, as well as excluding parliamentary 
representation of peoples and parties expressing "un-Israeli" solidarity 
with "the enemy and terror organizations", was adopted on May 15 by the 
Knesset after a raucous debate.

There was no doubt that the legislation was mainly enacted to penalise any 
expression of public solidarity with the just struggle of the Palestinian 
people for liberation from occupation and independent statehood, and to 
prevent politicians and parties who support armed struggle against Israel 
from taking part in elections to the Knesset.

The laws are rightly seen as racist, to exclude Arabs, and possibly 
communist representation in the next Parliament.

The law "against incitement", adopted by a 55-36 majority, says that anyone 
who makes calls to act with violence or terror, or expresses praise for it, 
or supports such acts in words and deeds, will face up to a five-year 
prison term.

Anybody who is found to be in possession of written or printed material 
that is able to lead to incitement against the State of Israel and its 
security, may face up to one year imprisonment.

The new legislation amends the Basic Law (Israel has no constitution yet) 
of the Knesset and the elections to it.

Any person or group of persons (parties) who expresses opposition to the 
Jewish character of the State of Israel, or gives verbal or any other form 
of support for armed attacks on Israel, is banned from future participation 
in general Knesset elections.

This law was adopted in the second and final third readings by a 78-17 
vote.

All the Arab Knesset deputies, and some left-wing Jewish democrats 
expressed their furious opposition to the laws.

In particular, the amendment to the Basic Knesset Law is seen as smacking 
of racism, banning Arab representation of the million Arab-Palestinian 
citizens (almost 20 percent of Israeli citizens) from in the future being 
represented in the Knesset.

Some of the right-wing Likud deputies, and particularly the amendment's 
initiator, the radical rightist Yossi Katz made no secret of his and his 
ilk's intentions to cleanse the "Jewish State's Parliament from Arabs".

The addresses by the right-wing government and other radical supporters of 
the Bills, were interrupted time and again by furious cat-calls from the 
benches of Arab deputies of the Hadash Front (Barakei and Mahoul), the 
United Arab List (A-Sana'a, Daramshe, Tibi and others). At times, the 
debate became immensely raucous, near to scuffles.

In his summing up address after the adoption of both laws, Katz, together 
with his satisfaction about the racist legislation, left no doubt what he 
thinks about the now adopted interference into the "democratic legislative 
power of the Knesset" by the High Court of Justice. This Court has "not 
once has shown too much indulgence with "left-wingers and Arab-lovers and 
is far from impartiality", he claimed.

"This law is very dangerous to the democratic future of Israel"; it smacks 
of racism and its passage into legislation was "political blindness aimed 
at keeping Arabs out of the Knesset", one of the few Meretz deputies who 
opposed the law, Zahava Gal-On, pointed out in her address during the 
debate. (The other Meretz deputies abstained.)

Hadash deputy, Issam Mahoul, said it was only natural that the million 
Arab-Palestinian minority citizens feel, and express solidarity with their 
Palestinian brethren and sisters, the population of the West Bank, 
Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, who have to endure brutal and inhuman 
oppression, daily and hourly insults and harassment, death and injuries on 
the hand of the occupation regime and its armed forces, and are fighting 
back.

The ill-famed late US Senator McCarthy can rejoice in his grave about the 
fact, that a satellite state and strategic partner of his country's rulers 
has adopted his advice and political aims by introducing this legislation.

Take care, Americans, the return of McCarthyism under the pretext of 
"fighting terror" knocks at your doorstep!!