The High Court on Wednesday struck down a portion of a law that makes it illegal for an Israeli to call for a boycott against the country, that allows for the imposition of an open-ended fine on offenders, without being required to show that the boycott call against an individual, organization or institution was actually heeded by anyone.
With that, the court preserved the rest of the law, on the books since 2011, throwing out of court two challenges to the main portion of the law, which makes it illegal for any Israeli to advocate or assist in the organization of a boycott against the state.
The petitions against the law claimed that the punishment imposed by the law effectively prevented anyone from making political statements about Israeli companies, thus violating basic laws on freedom of speech and freedom to do business.
MK Tzippy Hotovely praised the court for keeping the law, first propose by MK Ze'ev Elkin, on the books. “A properly-run country must retain for itself the right to sue those who call to boycott her. Housing Minister Uri Ariel said that “the decision shows that attempts to harm Israel via boycotts is unacceptable. It is the right of Israel to protect itself not just against physical damage and terror, but economic damage as well.”