Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Recent legislation

Recently a raft of bills that affect the State and the citizens of Israel have been passed by Committees of the Knesset and some have become law. Among these Bills are several that have resulted from the actions of those who seek to undermine, delegitimize and destroy the State of which they are citizens.

Take the case of Azmi Bishara, an Arab Member of the Knesset of the Balad (Communist) Party, elected in a free and fair election, who decided to go to Syria illegally, and gave a speech explaining to the Syrians how they could destroy Israel. But, that was not why he was indicted by the Israeli legal system, after returning to Israel he was investigated and found to have passed State secrets to Hizbullah, the Lebanese Shia terrorist organization. When he was about to be arrested he escaped and fled to Lebanon, where he has declared himself a supporter of Hizbollah and an enemy of Israel. But, he was still receiving his pension, quite a lucrative one, from being a member of the Knesset! Apparently there was no legal way that his pension could be stopped. So the Knesset finally passed a law that allows the pensions of MKs who carry out illegal actions against the interests of the State from continuing to receive payments from the State they seek to harm.

In another example, Hana Zouabi, a woman Arab member of the Knesset, chose to be aboard the Mavi Marmara ship that sailed from Turkey and tried to break the Israeli siege of Gaza. She has declared herself a supporter of Hamas and has made public statements opposing Israeli policy. That is alright if her action is only speech, but having physically sided with the blockade breakers, she has put herself on the other side of the law. However, there was no action that could be taken against her in the Knesset. Once again, a law has been proposed that would strip her of her immunity from prosecution as a Knesset member for taking actions inimical to the existence of the State of which she is a citizen. She is currently challenging this law in the Supreme Court. I doubt that someone who is a traitor to the State would be accepted as a member of Parliament in Britain, or a member of Congress in the USA.

Another example is the law related to support for the so-called Nakba or catastrophe in Arabic, that the Arabs suffered upon the establishment of the State of Israel. Every year the Arab citizens celebrate the Nakba, and these demonstrations are becoming larger each year. What has angered many Israelis was to find that State money from our taxes was being used to support these anti-Israel demonstrations. Now a law is about to be passed to prevent this. The so-called Nakba Law does not prevent Israeli Arab citizens from demonstrating, however, it does prevent them from using State funds for supporting this action.

Then there is the so-called "spying law," that is being considered by the Knesset, after a secretary in the Army Anat Kamm passed thousands of secret papers to a left-wing journalist, who used them to publish anti-Israel articles in the Israeli paper "Ha'aretz" and in the British "Guardian." This law which was passed by a large majority of the Knesset will strip Israeli citizens of their citizenship and rights, including pensions, if they actually are caught aiding an enemy, including a terrorist organization. An example would be the removal of the passport of US citizens who visited North Vietnam durng the Vietnam war, such as Jane Fonda. This new Israeli law does allow removal of their citizenship upon being found guilty in the courts.

Yet another Bill is targeted at NGO's that are highly critical of the Israeli Government and which receive funds from foreign Governments, either directly or through various channels, such as the EU. It seems inimical to democracy in Israel if there are many left-wing so-called human rights groups whose activities are entirely directed towards undermining the State of Israel which are funded by foreign Governments that also seek to impose thier views upon the Israeli State. The new legislation will require NGOs to register all foreign funding, and will limit the amount that any foreign Government or entity can provide them. Of course, the left-wing has cried foul, but this legislation pushed by Israeli Beitanu has received support from the Likud and the Government. It is noted that this legislation also limits funds supplied to right wing organizations from any foreign country or organization.

Finally, there is legislation pending that limits the granting of citizenship to illegal immigrants. Every week about 1,000 immigrants from Africa (mainly Muslims) enter southern Israel across the Egyptian Sinai desert. The Israeli Government has started building a security barrier along trhe Negev border from Eilat to south of Gaza, like that built by the US alongthe Mexican border. Already the number of illegal immigrants has been reduced. The new legislation is in line with anti-immigration laws in western countries that seeks to prevent immigrants either having children so that they can become citizens or marrying for the same reason. Israel is a small country and the influx of illegal immigrants if unchecked could seriously change the Jewish character of the State.

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