Israeli anti-boycott bill approved for vote by Knesset plenary

By JNews Alternative Jewish Perspectives on Israel and Palestine

Wednesday, 16 February, 2011 - 11:23

London, UK
Source: Knesset, various

A bill (translated in full below) prohibiting a boycott of products, persons and activities
connected with Israel and with Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has
passed another legislative stage. It was approved by the Knesset’s constitutional
committee yesterday.

The bill, which passed a preliminary vote in July 2010, will now be passed on to a first vote
by the Knesset plenary, after which it will go to committee and to two more readings before
passing into law.

According to the bill approved yesterday, the boycott prohibition applies both to Israel proper
and to illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Moreover, the bill’s definition of the violation of ‘boycott’ is very broad. Section 2 stipulates
that ‘It is prohibited to initiate a boycott of the state of Israel, to encourage participation in a
boycott, or to provide assistance or information with the purpose of promoting a boycott.’

The current draft omits certain sections proposed in the original bill, which had included
sanctions against foreign individuals or states engaged in boycotts, and was retroactive in
its application.

As a result, the main targets of the bill are now Israeli citizens and residents accused of
assisting or promoting boycott of Israeli or settlement-related activities and goods.

Israeli human rights groups have warned that this definition can lead to criminalization of a
broad range of activities by Israeli groups and individuals, such as publication of information
regarding human rights violations stemming from the settlements, refusal to travel to the
settlements or do business with them, and public support for a consumers’ boycott of
settlement goods.
If the bill becomes law, boycott will be regarded as both a civil wrong and a criminal offense.

Violators can potentially be sued for damages of up to NIS 30,000 (GBP 5,000) without any
need for evidence that injury was actually caused to the boycotted or potentially
boycotted parties.

In addition, violators will be fined by the state under the Penal Law.

At the constitutional committee yesterday, those who objected to the bill walked out of the
Knesset in protest at the end of a stormy debate, before the vote where the bill was approved
for forwarding to its first reading. Civil servants from the Foreign Affairs and Justice
Ministries objected to the bill, saying it would damage Israel overseas.

At the initiative of the Israeli group Coalition of Women for Peace, more than 40 Israeli
organizations have signed a petition against the bill, stressing that it ‘is a dangerous piece of
legislation, which tramples basic rights, first and foremost among them the rights to freedom
of expression, protest, and assembly.’ The petition is signed even by groups opposed to the
use of boycott as a tactic; and its signatories stress that they are united in their opinion that
boycott is ‘a civilian, non-violent and legitimate tool to express opinion and advance social
and political change.’

Proposed bill, “Prohibition on imposing a boycott - 2010” (unofficial translation)

Eighteenth Knesset

Law proposal by MKs Zeev Elkin, Dalia Itzik, Arieh Eldad, Ophir Akonis, Tzahi Hanegbi,
Moshe Gafni, David Rotem, David Azulai, Zevulun Orlev, Yariv Levin, Hayim Katz, Yoel
Hasson, Tzipi Hotovely, Lia Shemtov, Robert Iltuv, Abraham Michaeli, Menachem Eliezer
Mozes, Yaakov Katz, Ruchama Avraham-Balila, Magali Wahba, Karmel Shama, Danny
Danon, Alex Miller, Itzhak Vaknin, Uri Maklev

P/18/2505

Bill – Prohibition on imposing a boycott – 2010

Definitions:

1. In this law -

“Area under the control of the state of Israel” – including the areas of Judea and Samaria;

“Boycott against the state of Israel” – boycott imposed on a person because of his relations
with the state of Israel or with areas under the control of the state of Israel;

Prohibition on boycott against the state of Israel:

2. It is prohibited to initiate a boycott against the state of Israel, to encourage participation in a

boycott, or to provide assistance or information with the purpose of promoting a boycott.

Boycott – a civil wrong:

3.
a) An act of a citizen or resident of Israel in violation of Article 2 constitutes a civil wrong
and the orders of tort law [new version] shall apply to it, subject to the provisions of this law.

b) The court shall order damages for a civil wrong as defined in this law for a sum of up to
30,000 NIS to the injured party, with no need of demonstrating that injury was done; this sum
will be updated on the 16th of every month according to the new index.

Regarding this -

“Index” – the customers price index as published by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

“New index” – the index of the month prior to the update.

“Basic index” – the index of June 2010.

c) If the court finds that injury was caused of a value exceeding that stipulated in section 3a,
the court is permitted to rule damages according to the injury caused and subject to evidence
presented before it.

Criminal law:

4. A resident or citizen of Israel who acts in violation of Article 2 shall pay double the fine
defined in Article 61(a)(3) of the Penal Law 1977.

Regulations:

5. The Minister of Justice is appointed to implement this law and is authorised to set
regulations for its implementation, including regulations for hearings in the District Court and
for appeal of the decisions of the District Court in accordance with this law.

Explanation:

This law aims to protect the state of Israel in general and its citizens in particular from
academic, economic and other boycotts, which are imposed on the state, its citizens and
corporations within it, as a result of their ties to the state of Israel. In the USA there is a
similar law that protects its friends from boycott by a third party, and the assumption is that a
citizen or resident of the state shall not call for the imposition of a boycott on his own country
or of its allies. This assumption has been disproven with regard to the citizens and residents of
Israel. If the USA protects its friends through law, it should be self-evident that Israel has the
duty and the right to protect itself and its citizens through law.

The balance between public and state interests and individual liberties is expressed through
the limitation of the law’s applicability to the initiation or promotion of a boycott, while
abstaining from involvement in the personal decisions of individuals choosing a product or
a service.

Quelle:

http://www.jnews.org.uk/news/israeli-anti-boycott-bill-approved-for-vote-by-knesset-plenary