Nakba Law

"Fundamentals of Finance - Amendment No. 40", sometimes referred to as the Nakba Law, is a 2011 Israeli law which has received criticism for limiting freedom of speech pertaining to the Nakba. The law affects organizations which are funded, in whole or in part, by the government.[1]

Nakba Law
Knesset
Enacted2011

The law authorizes the Minister of Finance to withhold a limited amount of state funds from any government-funded[1] institution or body that commemorates “Israel’s Independence Day or the day on which the state was established as a day of mourning”, or that denies the existence of Israel as a “Jewish and democratic state.”

The amount of state funds withheld directly correlates to the amount of money spent on the event, capped at at most three times the amount of money spent.[1]

Background

The law was first proposed in 2008 by Alex Miller.[2] The proposal was preliminarily approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation on May 24, 2009.[2] The proposal was rejected and sent to the Committee for Constitution, Law, and Justice for revision.[2]

Thirty-seven members of the Knesset voted in favor of the Nakba Law, and twenty-five voted against, but sixty out of 120 MKs did not show up for the vote, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[3]

Provisions

The law affects organizations which are funded, in whole or in part, by the government.[1]

It declares that the Minister of Finance is authorized to withhold transfer of state funds, if the primary goal of the funds spent was to do one of the following:

  1. Denying the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and Democratic State[1]
  2. Incitement of racism, violence, or terrorism[1]
  3. Supporting armed conflict or acts of terror, of an enemy state or a terror organization, against the State of Israel[1]
  4. Referring to the Israeli Independence Day or the founding day of the country as a day of mourning[1]
  5. An act of vandalism or physical debasement of the flag or symbols of the state[1]

Effects

In 2019, Tel Aviv University cancelled a lecture by the politician Ofer Cassif, citing the law as the reason. This was the first instance of an academic institution heeding this law.[4]

See also

References

Citations
  1. Book of Laws - ספר החוקים (PDF) (in Hebrew). Vol. 2286 כ"ד באדר ב' התשע"א, 30.3.2011. Israel: Knesset (published 30 March 2011). 2011. pp. 686–687. ISSN 0334-3030. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 May 2023. This article incorporates a translation of text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. Gutman & Tirosh 2021, p. 713.
  3. Gutman & Tirosh 2021, p. 714.
  4. Kadari-Ovadia, Shira (May 16, 2019). "Israeli University Cancels Event Marking Nakba Day, Citing Violation of Law". Haaretz. Retrieved October 12, 2021.

Bibliography
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