Lawmakers would be able to vote their conscience on a controversial bill that plans to outlaw the display of "enemy flags" at universities or government institutions, the Ministerial Committee on Legislation decided Sunday.
The bill was tabled a little under a week after a demonstration at Be'er Sheva's Ben Gurion University saw hundreds of Bedouin students fly Palestinian flags on the occasion of Nakba Day — commemorating and lamenting the Arab defeat in the 1948-1949 war around the creation of Israel — and over two weeks after a similar controversial demonstration took place at Tel Aviv University.
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Arab students during a demonstration outside Tel Aviv University on the occasion of Nakba Day
(Photo: Moti Kimchi)
The bill — sponsored by Likud MK Eli Cohen — will affect all universities and any state-funded institutions, and will come up for a reading in the Knesset plenum on Wednesday.
"The hypocrisy and the incitement from some Israeli Arabs must stop. They want to enjoy the budget of the State of Israel and at the same time defy the State of Israel and harm its sovereignty," said Cohen.
"Therefore, the bill I submitted will prohibit the hoisting of flags of enemy states, including the Palestinian Authority, in state institutions. Anyone who by the way sees himself as a Palestinian will receive from us all the assistance required to cross a one-way route to Gaza."
Joint List MK Ofer Cassif lambasted the proposed legislation, adding that "the decision of the Ministerial Committee to allow freedom of vote on the 'Flag Repression Law' is a continuation of [the government's] fascist line against the Palestinian people and their identity."
The Knesset Education Committee, meanwhile, held a discussion Sunday regarding freedom of expression, incitement and violence on campuses.
During the discussion, Ben Gurion University President Prof. Daniel Haimovich said: "The Palestinian flag threatens a large number of Jews. I understand it and it pains me. But that does not mean that there is violence on campus."
"This year we were presented with requests from two student groups on the left and right to hold demonstrations. As a lesson from last year, and in order to prevent violence and, God forbid, casualties, we created a dialogue and agreements with both groups," Haimovich said.
"The requests submitted with us did not include the hoisting of Palestinian flags. [When the flags were hoisted] we understood that this is in accordance with the law and that it was not possible to remove them. We acted in accordance with the law and the opinion of the Justice Ministry."
i24NEWS contributed to this story.