MK Eliyahu Ravivo of the Likud this week submitted an amendment to the basic bill: the Knesset, according to which section 7a will be expanded so that even candidates who support a boycott of Israel will not be able to run for the Knesset. The members of the Knesset who do not meet the requirement are Ayman Odeh and Aida Toma Suleiman from Hadash-Ta’al , who previously spoke out on the issue. “It is impossible to allow those who seek to harm us to be members of the Knesset,” Rabivo said.
The bill seeks to prohibit those who directly or indirectly support a boycott of Israel from running in the elections to the Israeli Knesset. This is against the background of the activities of quite a few elected officials, as well as well-known public figures, who publicly supported those who promoted the boycott of Israel and the damage to its position around the world.
Section 7A of the Basic Law: The Knesset, which comes up every time in the debates of the Election Committee regarding the controversial Knesset candidates, is currently worded as follows:
A. A list of candidates will not participate in the Knesset elections and no person will be a candidate in the Knesset elections, if the goals or actions of the list or the actions of the person, as the case may be, explicitly or implicitly, contain any of these: 1) denial of the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state; 2) incitement to racism; 3) Supporting an armed struggle, of an enemy state or of a terrorist organization, against the State of Israel.
Explaining the bill, Rabivo wrote that “in recent years, the threat of a boycott against Israel has been increasing. Artists are canceling their participation in events in Israel, as are companies, banks and investment houses. There is no doubt that the boycott movement poses a significant threat to the existence of the State of Israel, its economy and security.”
According to him, “From this, the need arises to prevent the participation of boycott supporters in the Knesset elections. A person who calls for a boycott of Israel directly harms the State of Israel and its security. All the more so, as long as it is an elected official – a member of parliament in Israel – who calls for a boycott of the state. Therefore, it is suggested to add An additional restrictive condition to section 7a, thereby preventing the participation of a person or a list of candidates from running for the Knesset, if they expressed support for a boycott of the State of Israel.”
An identical bill was placed on the twenty-fourth Knesset table by Knesset member Eli Cohen, when the Likud party was in the opposition, but now the bill is expected to receive broad support and has a chance of passing. Ravivo added that “the absurdity according to which the supporters of the boycott of the State of Israel can be elected as legitimate members of the Israeli legislature – must stop. It is impossible to allow those who seek to harm us to become members of the Knesset. who wants to promote the boycott against us.”