The Knesset is set to vote today on an amendment to the Basic Law on the Knesset which allows, for the first time ever, the expulsion of a sitting Member of Knesset (MK) by a vote of 90 out of 120 members of that body.
What are “Basic Laws?”
Basic Laws in Israel are pieces of legislation that stand above ordinary legislation and set out the role of the state authorities and institutions. In the absence of a formal constitution, they serve as the building blocks of an evolving cannon of constitutional law and are used by the courts in this manner.
What does this bill do?
The bill amends a Basic Law to allow MKs to expel their fellow MKs on the grounds that they have incited to racism or voiced support for violence against Israel. A debate over expulsion is initiated by 70 MKs, including 10 from the opposition. A majority of 90 MKs is then required to expel an MK.
Under existing law, both inciting to racism and supporting violence are criminal offenses that are not protected by parliamentary immunity. If a court finds a Member of Knesset guilty of such offenses they are removed from the Knesset. With this amendment, however, the power to remove a Member of Knesset has been passed from the purview of the judicial system to the highly politicized legislature.
Moreover, existing law already stipulates grounds for disqualifying an electoral list or candidate from running for the Knesset to begin with. And, existing legislation also already allows for MKs to temporarily ban MKs from taking part in committee work and from speaking on the floor of the Knesset. Nevertheless, until now, Israel’s constitutional procedures protected the right of an MK – who was elected for this purpose – to vote on legislation.
What is behind this bill?
The legislation was initially proposed in response to a meeting held by Arab Knesset members from the Joint List party who met in early 2016 with families of Palestinians who carried out terror actions in Jerusalem.
Amidst a growing campaign of deligitimation of Arab MKs, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu initiated the process of amending the Basic Law resulting in this new legislation. The grounds for expulsion were drafted specifically with Arab members of Knesset in mind and is the most severe step of extended attempts to punish and suspend Arab members of Knesset for their public positions.
Coming up on a final vote only a week after legislation was enacted targeting human rights organizations receiving funds from foreign governments, this latest law risks being one more blow to Israeli democracy.
Why does this legislation matter?
First, the law was crafted with the goal of potentially disqualifying elected representatives of Palestinian citizens of Israel, whose actions and statements may not find favor with the political majority. Just by passing this law, the Israeli government is sending a message to these citizens that they don’t matter and that their representatives may be dismissed for voicing dissent.
Second, this law erodes the protections in Israeli law against the tyranny of the majority and politicizes a domain that has been the purview of Israel’s law enforcement bodies and the judiciary.
None of us can know for sure where this enfeebling of Israel’s constitutional protections will lead. Today it is the Arab citizens of Israel who potentially face disenfranchisement, tomorrow the law may be used to take action against other political representatives who express opposing positions to the ruling consensus.