The largest opposition party, Kadima, has proposed a bill that would cancel the “Anti-Boycott Law” adopted by the Knesset Monday.
The Anti-Boycott Bill, which passed in its final readings and is now the law of the land, states that any economic, academic or cultural boycott against Israel or any group located within its territory, including Judea and Samaria, will be considered a civil offense and its participants will be subject to litigation.
It also allows the Minister of Finance to exclude a body from competing in government tenders if it takes part in such a boycott.
The bill annulling the Anti-Boycott Law was presented Thursday by Kadima’s Shlomo Mula, who justified it by quoting the Knesset’s Legal Adviser Eyal Yinon. Yinon has presented an opinion saying that he would have difficulty defending the Anti-Boycott Law before the High Court.
Yinon said that in making it possible to sue a person who initiates a ban on products made in Judea and Samaria, the law “damages the core of freedom of expression in Israel.”
Opponents of the law said that it is unfair because it singles out the communities of Judea and Samaria as eligible for compensation in the face of a boycott, but does not similarly protect other groups that could also be boycotted – such as artists who did not serve in the military.
MK Aryeh Eldad (NU) responded to the bill by suggesting facetiously that Kadima propose a bill for annulling the results of the elections as well.
So-called "human rights" groups have appealed the legality of the Anti-Boycott Law to the High Court.