IDI Experts Oppose Bill To Halt Funding To Parties Who Support Boycotting Israeli Settlements
IDI experts say proposal, which is being brought to the Ministerial Committee on Legislation on Oct. 18, is intended to silence members of the Knesset and prevent criticism of government policy
A sharply worded policy statement by Israel Democracy Institute experts was sent last week to members of the Ministerial Committee on Legislation against the proposed amendment to the party funding law that allow a committee to halt funding to parties that call for placing a boycott on the state of Israel or any area of Israel, including the West Bank.
A sharply worded policy statement by Israel Democracy Institute experts was sent last week to members of the Ministerial Committee on Legislation against the proposed amendment to the party funding law that allow a committee to halt funding to parties that call for placing a boycott on the state of Israel or any area of Israel, including the West Bank.
In the policy statement, signed by Professor Mordechai Kremnitzer and Dr. Amir Fuchs, it is written, "Party funding is not a privilege that is granted by the state; the very existence of parties is dependent on it and removing it would harm significantly one of the most elementary rights of democracy – the right to elect and be elected. Further, removing party funding as a form of political protest to a party based on its stance on an issue that is among the most controversial in Israel politics – the future of the settlements in Judea and Samaria – is an extreme act that harms the roots of the democratic process."
The policy statement authors also write that the wording of the proposal reveals its purpose – one of which is to silence members of Knesset and harm their freedom of expression.
"This is an attempt to limit freedom of political expression, which is the most protected freedom of expression," it says in the statement. "And all the more so, when it comes to the most controversial issues in Israeli politics."
On a technical level, the policy statement writers say that choosing the public committee to be in charge of party funding (and disqualifying parties from receiving it) is "ridiculous and senseless" because the purpose of the committee is to evaluate the economic need of party funding and not to decide judicial fact.
In conclusion of their policy statement, Kremnitzer and Fuchs explain that the proposal is not focused on defending the state, but rather the policies of the government. It does not pass the test of freedom of expression, a right that is measured specifically when it comes to controversial points of view.
The authors write with a hint of cynicism: "If there are those who want to harm the democratic character of Israel, to uproot relations that are tense in any case between the state and its Arab citizens, to arm the enemies of Israel with ammunition – those are the people who should support it."