YARIV LEVIN: ONLY UNDEMOCRATIC ASPECT OF BOYCOTT LAW IS OPPOSITION’S ATTEMPT TO THWART IT
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4094600,00.html
New law protects democracy
Op-ed: The only undemocratic aspect of Boycott Law is opposition’s
attempt to thwart it
Yariv Levin
The other day we thwarted an attempted legal putsch aimed at trampling
the Knesset’s sovereignty in favor of the political considerations of
a national minority. The deceptive scaremongering campaign against the
Boycott Law, undertaken while ignoring the legislation’s clear
instructions and justified aim, was met with the firm stand of Knesset
members. We voted in favor of the law and safeguarded democracy.
The State of Israel’s duty is to defend itself and its citizens. If in
the past the main battlefield was military, today the campaign is much
more complex. Economic strength, academic prowess and cultural wealth
constitute a vital element in the power of every state. The Boycott
Law is meant to safeguard the national strength of us all.
In essence, the law entrenches the right of each one of us to receive
proper compensation for damages incurred as result of being boycotted
only because of one’s area of residence or workplace. The law prevents
those who call for boycotts against Israel and its citizens from
reaching into the public coffers and receiving funding at the expense
of tax funds paid by the very citizens facing the boycott.
The law draws a clear line between a legitimate political debate and
the exploitation of Israeli democracy in order to undermine the
State’s sovereignty, its economy or its academic institutions, whether
these are located in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or Ariel. This is the law’s
justified aim, and there is no wonder that the leading Western
democracies, headed by the United States, already adopted similar
moves and even harsher sanctions against those who seek to boycott
them.
Radical minority of judges
Against this backdrop, we should view with special gravity the
opposition’s attempt, with the backing of a handful of attorneys, to
prevent the law’s approval on the basis of seemingly unconstitutional
grounds. The attempt to curb a democratic process and thwart the
majority’s decision via controversial legal opinions and threats to
petition the High Court of Justice reflect the Israeli Left’s
inability to accept the path chosen by most of people here. This is a
dangerous process where the minority attempts to force its views upon
the majority by using the legal system, and first and foremost the
Supreme Court.
A radical minority of judges who represent a post-Zionist agenda are
trying time and again to force their worldview upon us after it was
rejected by a large majority of the public. The law was declared by
its foes as “unconstitutional” while, as we know, Israel doesn’t even
have a constitution.
The small group of attorneys who seek to run the State created a sort
of virtual “constitution” from thin air, while aiming to disqualify –
on the basis of vague rules that itt changes in line with its needs –
legislation passed in the Knessset via a proper procedure and as an
expression of the sovereign’s desire. It is not the law that is
flawed, but rather, the anti-democratic move undertaken by its
objectors.
The attempt to prevent the affirmation of the Boycott Law yet again
proved the need to facilitate genuine change in our legal
establishment – a change that will bring the Jewish and Zionist
character back into this system.
Likud Knesset Member Yariv Levin chairs the Knesset Committee
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