High Court strikes down bonuses for artists who perform in settlements

The High Court of Justice on Wednesday struck down Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev’s policy of giving preferential treatment to artists who performed in the West Bank settlements.

The ruling was in response to a 2016 petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel against the so-called Regev Amendments, which changed the Culture Ministry’s funding policy to give bonuses to artistic groups who appear in settlements and fines to those who refuse to do so.

“The justification for the alleged inequality in incentives for performances in the West Bank is that the area is part of the ‘cultural periphery’ and that institutions perform there less frequently than in other areas of the periphery. I looked at the arguments and data presented, and I found no evidence to support that argument,” Justice Hanan Melcer wrote in the majority opinion.

He added: “The bonuses [offered by the Culture Ministry to those performing in the settlements] do not apply equitable standards for distributing support from the ministry, as required by law.”

Melcer also said the policy undermines the right of freedom of expression.

“The right to freedom of expression imposes on the [legal] authority the obligation not to discriminate between people or institutions in light of the expression of their views and requires it to maintain neutrality,” he said.

In a dissenting opinion, Justice David Mintz questioned the legitimacy of the petition, noting it was filed by a rights group and not by a cultural institution whose budget would be reduced relative to others by not appearing in settlements.

“The petitioner’s right of standing is not at all clear. I can only reiterate the rule that has been discontinued as of late, whereby there is no room to open the gates of the High Court to a public petitioner whose petition argues on behalf of the interests of individuals or institutions that could petition themselves,” Mintz wrote.

The court did not rule on an amendment allowing fines for artists who refuse to appear in settlements, as it has never been enforced.

“This principled and important High Court of Justice ruling affirms that there is no basis for Minister Regev’s claim that granting a bonus to cultural institutions performing in the settlements amounts to serving the ‘social periphery,'” Dan Yakir, chief legal counsel of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, said in a statement.

In her response to the ruling, Regev said the striking down of the bonuses was “disappointing” but the court’s decision not to address the fines was an endorsement of her policy.

“The High Court of Justice has decided: There are no boycotts,” she said. “The High Court provided this morning that my policy of preventing the exclusion of Judea and Samaria [West Bank] residents and the prioritizing of the periphery is right and justified.”

David Elhayani, head of the Yesha Council settlement group, ripped into the High Court over the ruling.

“The decision of the High Court was motivated by the left’s narrative and does fatal damage to the settlement enterprise in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley,” he said in a statement.

The ruling comes ahead of Regev’s departure from the Culture Ministry in the next government, which is currently scheduled to be sworn in on Thursday. Reports have said she is expected to become transportation minister.

Regev, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, became culture minister in 2015. Her tenure was marked by numerous clashes with members of Israel’s artistic community and accusations she was attempting to bring artists in line with her hawkish political ideology.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.