From the Liveblog of
Sunday, December 25, 2022
Ben Gvir raps Netanyahu for saying he would relegislate ban on racist MKs
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The far-right Otzma Yehudit party criticizes incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for saying that he would create new legislation barring racist politicians from running for the Knesset.
“To our friends in the Likud: We’re used to a deal being a deal and a word being a word,” says the party in a statement posted by its leader, MK Itamar Ben Gvir. “We were not updated about any new law that Likud says it intends to pass, but we’re obviously open to hear how we can get rid of [Hadash-Ta’al MKs Ahmad] Tibi and [Ayman] Odeh and Ofer Cassif.”
Likud and Otzma Yehudit had agreed to cancel the current law, which bars political candidates who incite to racism or support terror groups. The current wording of the law does not differentiate in any manner between Jews or Arabs. It is infrequently applied, but was used in 2019 to bar far-right MKs Baruch Marzel and Benzi Gopstein, longtime associates of Ben Gvir.
Ben Gvir says that the goal of canceling the clause is to “end the injustice that is done only to Jews.”
Likud had said earlier today in response to the uproar that it does back canceling the current legislation, but plans to pass a new law instead that will be applied equally to Jews and Arabs.
The Times of Israel Community.