Kadima MK proposes canceling anti-boycott law

Shlomo Molla quotes opinion of Knesset legal adviser, who wrote that while measure is legal, it would be difficult to defend in High Court.

By LAHAV HARKOV
MK Shlomo Molla (Kadima) 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
MK Shlomo Molla (Kadima) 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
MK Shlomo Molla (Kadima) has submitted legislation that would cancel the “Boycott Bill” passed by the Knesset last Monday.
In the new bill’s text, Molla quoted the opinion of Knesset legal adviser Eyal Inon, who wrote on the eve of the bill’s approval, that while the measure is legal, it would be difficult to defend in the High Court of Justice.
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The law “creates a [legal] cause of damages in compensation for calls to boycott, whose goal is to affect the political debate on the future of Judea and Samaria, a debate which has been at the heart of political debate in the State of Israel for over 40 years,” Inon wrote.
“The broad definition of a boycott on the State of Israel is a violation of the core tenet of freedom of political expression, and elements in the proposed bill are borderline illegal,” Molla wrote on Thursday, quoting Inon.
“Beyond the legal issue of whether the bill is constitutional and harms freedom of expression, this is a law that will cause Israel great damage internationally, and threatens Israel’s democratic image in the world,” the Kadima lawmaker continued.
Molla also wrote that cancelling the anti-boycott measure would “prevent the High Court’s intervention in Knesset decisions.”
Coalition chairman MK Ze’ev Elkin (Likud), who sponsored the anti-boycott bill, declined to comment.
MK Arye Eldad (National Union), the only opposition party to vote in favor of the law, quipped: “I propose that in addition to this new bill, [opposition leader] Tzipi Livni should try to pass a bill cancelling the results of the last election, making her prime minister, regardless of the results.”
In response to the new bill, Eldad said, “This is a foolish initiative.
“Kadima already expressed its stance, opposing the bill although senior members of the party were among those who proposed it. Even Molla’s bill can’t change history, and if they think a bill like this can change the majority’s opinion, they can continue wasting the Knesset’s time.”