Knesset bill to criminalize denial, celebration of Oct. 7 massacres clears first reading

A bill criminalizing the denial, minimization or celebration of the Hamas terror group’s October 7 attack on southern Israel passes its first reading 10-0 in the Knesset plenum.

The bill, sponsored by Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer, is modeled after a 1986 law prohibiting Holocaust denial and mandates prison sentences of five years for making statements denying the massacre or “downplaying its dimensions” as well as prohibiting expressions of “praise, sympathy or identification” with the attack.

The massacre denial bill has raised concerns among some human rights advocates over its potential impact on free speech, especially given the large number of police investigations and indictments against Arab Israeli citizens on charges of incitement and identifying with terrorist groups since the war began.

“We must not allow attempts to harm our historical memory or justify the atrocities,” Forer says in a statement.