The Knesset has been in session for more than two months. And the Netanyahu government is plowing ahead with its anti-democratic agenda. Netanyahu and his ministers have already developed a raft of legislation that actively eats away at the core of Israel’s democracy. These laws intentionally chill critical speech, try to suppress the minority vote, financially tie the hands of the free press, and enable corruption, cronyism, and self-dealing. It’s all on the table in Netanyahu’s government.
At NIF, and especially at our action arm Shatil, much of what we do is push back, slow-walk, and block these kinds of bills and challenge them when they become laws. And, in close collaboration with our Israeli staff, we’ve re-developed and will soon be re-launching “What to Watch in the Knesset,” a project that tracks and explains this legislation (and other government maneuvers) as it moves — or doesn’t — through the Knesset.
The below is a taste of “What to Watch in the Knesset” — a tracker, backgrounder, and explainer all rolled into one.
ELECTION MANIPULATION LAW
- Background: Israel has laws on the books that prevent people and parties who threaten Israeli democracy from running for office. But in early November, an amendment (proposed by Likud MK Ophir Katz) to “Basic Law: The Knesset” aims to weaponize these protections, turning them into a tool to exclude Arab citizens and parties from the democratic process. (Basic Laws are quasi-constitutional laws, and “Basic Law: The Knesset” canonizes the functions of the Knesset). The amendment passed its first reading in the Knesset and is now in committee.
- The Change: Under the law as it stands, there are three ways a party or individual can be banned from the Knesset: incitement to racism, denial of the nature of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and support for terrorism. The proposed amendment would significantly expand the final category so that even a single statement, even a Facebook post, could be interpreted as “support for terrorism” — and warrant a ban on that candidate or party.
- The Details: The amendment specifies that “support for terrorism” can be explicit or implicit. For Arab citizens of Israel whose vocal opposition to the occupation, violence, and mistreatment of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank is already often misconstrued as support for terror, this change has the potential to be dramatic.
- How it discriminates: Historically, only Arab parties have been banned on the basis of the category of “supporting terror,” while Jewish parties have only ever been accused of “incitement to racism” (key among them was Rabbi Meir Kahane’s Kach party and Itamar Ben-Gvir). Experts agree this amendment will only affect Arabs.
- The upshot: This amendment is a backdoor for voter suppression. It hinges on the hope that, without Arab parties in the running, Israeli Arabs who make up 20 percent of the population of Israel, will not turn out to vote in significant numbers. Without their votes (and their parties) counted, there will be an overall reduction in seats for left-wing parties in the Knesset. This will result in an overall increase in Knesset seats for right-wing parties. There will be no electoral path to victory for a centre-left government. This could give the right a nearly inevitable majority — forever.
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