BICOM

Israeli parliamentarians held an impassioned debate over the controversial new ‘boycott law’ in the Knesset yesterday, following the passing of the law on Monday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed his support for the law that would make calls for a boycott subject to possible civil litigation in Israel. Netanyahu said that the new law was the product of the democratic process and asserted that it does not in any way harm Israel’s image. Rather, the PM contended, the ‘reckless, irresponsible’ attacks on the new law were likely to harm Israel. Netanyahu, in his first public comment on this issue, described Israel as a ‘democracy on the defensive,’ which has the right to draw a line between what is ‘acceptable and what is not acceptable.’

Kadima chairwoman MK Tzipi Livni took the podium following Netanyahu and blamed him for using others’ weaknesses to gain more power. ‘You are leading Israel into an abyss,’ she said. Three Knesset members were also removed from the chamber during the course of the heated debate, for persistent heckling.

Outside the Knesset, the broader debate over the new law continues to rage. Yesterday 32 law professors from faculties all over the country prepared a petition to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, in which they claim it is ‘unconstitutional’ and harms free speech in Israel. On Tuesday, Israeli leftist organisations launched a series of protests against the boycott law. The Gush Shalom movement took its campaign to the legal level and filed a petition to the Supreme Court, claiming that the boycott law is unconstitutional.