A string of new laws passed this year by Israel’s right-leaning Knesset has triggered an unusually rancorous debate here over where to draw the line on free speech, exposing shifting sentiments about a core democratic ideal.
The latest battle erupted with the approval this month of a law that created civil and financial penalties against those who voice support for boycott campaigns targeting Israel or its institutions, including West Bank settlements that many in Israel and around the world oppose as an obstacle to peace.
Free-speech advocates blasted the law as an unprecedented assault on the right to criticize the government, while proponents praised it as a patriotic defense of Israel’s image.
It came on the heels of other measures that critics say erode Israel’s democratic foundations, including ones that penalize certain groups that publicly commemorate Nakba Day, marking the 1948 Palestinian displacement; legalize “admissions committees” to screen would-be residents of small Israeli towns; and require non-Jewish immigrants seeking citizenship to take a loyalty oath to Israel as a “Jewish and democratic” state.
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