The winter session of the Knesset has barely begun, but the Netanyahu government is wasting no time jump-starting its program to weaken Israel’s democratic institutions in this new Knesset winter session.
A key example of Netanyahu’s ongoing attempt to weaken the Supreme Court and erode Israel’s democratic systems is an amendment to one of Israel’s quasi-constitutional Basic Laws proposed by Likud MK Ofir Katz. At present, “Israel’s Basic Law: The Knesset,” states that anyone who supports terrorism, militants in an “enemy state”, or denies Israel’s Jewish and democratic character is ineligible to be a Member of the Knesset (MK). But Katz’s amendment would broaden the definition of what it means to ‘support terrorism.’
At NIF we are keenly aware of the implications of this bill – both the democratic backsliding it represents and the profound discrimination baked into it — and NIF grantees and NIFC project partners are loudly voicing their opposition and fighting back.
NIFC project partner The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) explained that this amendment’s “ultimate purpose is to disqualify Arab parties and Arab candidates … or at the very least to force Arab and left-wing MKs to silence themselves and avoid expressing opinions on the occupation and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
Arab citizens of Israel make up one in five of Israel’s citizens. Should this bill pass into law, it would be a severe impingement of not only Arab citizens’ freedom of expression, but also a profound degradation of Israel’s democracy.
This amendment fits squarely into this government’s program to undermine the authority and power of the Supreme Court. Currently, the Central Elections Committee (CEC) — composed of members of the Knesset – can disqualify candidates or parties from running for allegedly “supporting terrorism.” But the Supreme Court can — and does — override their disqualifications, giving the green light to legitimate Arabs and Arab parties. Katz’s proposed amendment would slash the court’s veto power, strengthening the hand of politicians in power and further weakening the Supreme Court.
The amendment is also discriminatory. It is worded so that it does not apply to candidates or parties who support Jewish terrorism. If it did, Israel’s current Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, who was convicted for supporting Jewish terrorist groups, would be disqualified from running as well. The effect of this discriminatory application will create a situation where the Israeli right has the potential to create permanent electoral victory. And so, to protect democracy, promote a fairer political process, and prevent discrimination and disenfranchisement, ACRI is petitioning the Knesset to halt Katz’s amendment that would rewrite this Basic Law.
When the judicial coup first began, many months before October 7th, NIF built a strategic and tactical centre called the Civil Society Protection Hub as part of our emergency response to the government’s anti-democratic agenda. The Hub protects the safety of individual activists and broader civil liberties. Right now, its work is focused on mobilizing individual citizens to speak out against this bill. Through their efforts, over 1,000 Israelis have sent personal messages to Knesset members opposing the legislation. Shatil, NIF’s action arm, has also launched a coalition of groups who are insisting on free and fair elections going forward.
Through civil society, through organizational advocacy, and always in line with our values, our funded partners are working hard to prevent any further weakening of the judicial branch and ensure that discriminatory legislation fails to get off the ground.