Itongadol.- A bill proposed by Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman would prevent parties that call for or encourage boycotts of Israel or Israeli products, or have MKs who do so, from receiving government campaign funding.
The legislation, an amendment to the existing campaign finance law, states that a party cannot receive government funding for its campaign if a public committee determined it knowingly and publicly called for a boycott of Israel, and there is a reasonable possibility that the call led to people boycotting Israel, and the party is aware of that possibility.
Boycott is defined according to the definition in the 2011 Law to Prevent Harm to the State of Israel Through Boycotts: calling for economic, cultural or academic boycotts against Israel, Israeli institutions or regions under Israeli control.
The bill’s explanatory portion states that if the government is fighting BDS, then it should not fund parties in the Knesset that call or support boycotts.
“There is no doubt that calling for boycotts and harming the State of Israel and its citizens from within the legislature is particularly grave and does greater harm than similar calls from others,” it reads. “How does it make sense that citizens of Israels’ taxes fund those who call to harm their ability to make a living and the state’s economy?”
Liberman also said calls to boycott Jewish products are a new form of anti-Semitism, which should not be allowed in the Knesset.
The bill was inspired by calls from Meretz and Joint List MKs to boycott settlement products. Some Joint List lawmakers expressed support for boycotting all of Israel, as well.