• by Jody Williams and Rachel Giora
• Tuesday, July 12, 2011
• Inter Press Service

As the world watches the "Arab Spring" unfold in the Middle East -a reaction against decades of oppression and suppression of civil society- there are disturbing signs that Israel is stealthily moving to dismantle some key civil rights and quiet the voices calling for justice and equality for the Palestinians, write Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work to ban landmines and Rachel Giora of the Coalition of Women for Peace, based in Tel Aviv.

The threat to freedom of expression extends to Israeli society where peace organizations -including Peace Now and the Coalition of Women for Peace- are voicing strong objections to a series of laws before the Knesset.

One of the flashpoints is a new bill approved by the Knesset on July 11. The "boycott prohibition law" criminalizes citizens and residents of Israel or organizations who call for a boycott of Israel or the settlements. The law also threatens the organizations with revoking their non-profit status. This jeopardizes the organizations' ability do receive donor funds, including those from the European Union.

Indeed, the opposition to the law goes beyond peaceniks, Palestinians, and intellectuals. Before the vote, the Knesset's legal advisor, attorney Eyal Yanon, published a legal assessment saying that parts of the law border on "illegality and perhaps beyond."

Government officials -including from the Justice, Trade and Industry Ministries and the Foreign Ministry- are also among those who have expressed strong opposition to the law. In testimony before the Knesset, government officials have raised concerns that the legislation is an attack on freedom of expression and will do more harm than good for Israel's reputation with the rest of the world.

(*) Jody Williams won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work to ban landmines. She chairs the Nobel Women's Initiative, an organization created by six women Nobel Peace Laureates. Professor Rachel Giora is with the Coalition of Women for Peace, based in Tel Aviv.

© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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