Otzma Yehudit claims current law was only used against right-wing Jewish politicians and not Arab “haters of Israel” lawmakers.
By: WIN Staff – worldisraelnews.com
Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party said Sunday it was in favor of a plan by firebrand MK Itamar Ben-Gvir to strike down a law prohibiting terror supporters and racists from running for Knesset, citing its ineffectiveness, and instead calling for new legislation.
Days earlier, Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party revealed that the plan to nix the law was part of the party’s coalition deals with Likud, prompting outrage. Ben-Gvir claimed that the law was being used disproportionately against right-wing individuals, and prevented three members of his party from running for parliament.
The law in its present form “did not prevent racists and terror supporters from running for Knesset,” Likud said in statement.
“Therefore, Netanyahu intends to cancel that clause and legislate a new law to fight racism and terror that will ensure equal and effective enforcement for both Jews and Arabs.”
The law, which is a clause within the Basic Law, states that no Knesset candidate, whether Jewish or Arab, can deny the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state; incite racism; or support an enemy state or a terrorist group or any armed resistance against Israel.
Outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid responded to Likud’s statement sardonically, tweeting: “I agree with Likud that the current law hasn’t prevented racists and terror supporters from entering the Knesset. Ben-Gvir for instance.”
Ben-Gvir said in response to Likud’s statement that his party would want to ensure any new legislation doesn’t “only discriminate against Jews.”
He went on to site former Arab MKs Heba Yazbak, Haneen Zoabi, and Azmi Bishara, who were known for their rabid anti-Israel invective, as examples of individuals who should never have been allowed to run for Knesset had the law been upheld.
“If Likud is interested in a new law, we’d like to discuss it. We too are not interested in witnessing racism in the Knesset but are not interested in injustice and persecution of Jews alone while haters of Israel like [Hadash-Ta’al leader] Ayman Odeh are free to run for Knesset,” he said.
In other news, WIN also reported that Netanyahu’s son, Yair Netanyahu, said that state prosecutors involved in the corruption charges against his father should be tried for treason and sentenced to death if found guilty.
The younger Netanyahu, who is often accused of being a firebrand, made his comments on Galei Israel radio on Sunday.
“The crimes that these senior prosecutors – and people in the police department – committed are each worth five years in prison at a minimum. So that’s already about 10,000 total years in prison for all the crimes these people committed.”
It was a “vicious attempt to overthrow the government,” he claimed.
According to Netanyahu, it was an attempt to “frame an innocent man,” and because of his position as Israeli premier, this was tantamount to “a coup d’état, which is treason.”
“Everyone is welcome to look up the law to see what the punishment is for treason. I’ll give you a hint – it isn’t a jail sentence,” he said.
The younger Netanyahu later slammed the coverage of his remarks by Israel’s “left-wing” media, calling the reports “fake news.”
He also denied inciting to violence.
“Anyone who studied reading comprehension in school can easily understand that the purpose of what I said on the radio was to emphasize to listeners the severity of the criminal behavior of the prosecutors who frame [people], according to the Israeli law books.”
