Israel debates legality of 'Nazi'
A new bill prohibiting the inappropriate use of the word "Nazi" brings into Israeli public debate the limits of free speech in a country dedicated to spreading the lessons of the Holocaust.
The proposed bill outlawing the word “Nazi” and Nazi symbols, which was approved in a preliminary Knesset reading on Jan. 15 after a stormy debate, and prior to that by the Ministerial Committee on Legislation, was greeted, as expected, with harsh condemnation by left-wing legislators. One of its authors, Knesset member Shimon Ohayon (Yisrael Beitenu), emerging from total anonymity, was said to be "bizarre [and] hallucinating."
“You are a bunch who hallucinates and are turning the Knesset into a joke,” said Knesset member Zehava Gal-On, chairwoman of the Meretz Party, lashing out at Ohayon and a group of other Knesset members who joined him in tabling the bill. It’s easy to dismiss Ohayon as odd, given that he’s generally unknown and a member of Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman’s party. But the identity of the other Knesset members who signed the bill — among them former Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit and two Knesset members of the Yesh Atid Party, Boaz Toporovsky and Dov Lipman — justifies a more serious debate of its content, which in its current version runs counter to freedom of speech.
This is not the first time such a bill outlawing Nazi symbols and signs has been tabled. Similar proposals were presented in past years, including in the final days of the previous Knesset, with no less than four bills aimed at turning the use of Holocaust symbols into a criminal offense.
Among the Knesset members who authored those bills were Ruhama Avraham and Yoel Hasson of the Kadima Party, Naomi Chazan of Meretz, Colette Avital and Eitan Cabel of Labor — none of whom were considered “hallucinatory.” Chazan and Avital, with roots deeply embedded in left-wing politics, were even considered at the time worthy and highly-respected members of the Knesset.
