Deputy AG says Culture Ministry request to vet artistic content illegal

Deputy Attorney General Dina Zilber says the request by Culture Minister Miri Regev to require local municipalities to pre-approve plays and other cultural events based on their content is against the law.

Zilber slams Regev’s apparent attempt to clamp down on artistic expression deemed critical of Israel as an assault on free expression.

“This is a worrying accumulation of incidents that conveys a problematic message that the activities of artists and cultural institutions are always under the watchful eye of the state, because they are subject to constant government monitoring,” Zilber says. “This is a request that goes to the roots of free expression.”

“She is terrifying local authorities and cultural institutions by asking that they deny funding to anyone who dares hold an event that she does not like.”

Zilber’s legal opinion comes in response to a petition filed by the Association for Civil Liberties in Israel.