Chairman of the Knesset House Committee Yoav Kish proposed a bill that prevents BDS movements from financing trips made by Members of the Knesset abroad.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz said that the law is to be proposed to the Knesset on Wednesday, noting that it is likely to be pushed through after the ministry of strategic affairs identified a list of “blacklisted” organisations.
Haaretz reported Kish saying that at least one of the blacklisted groups, American Muslims for Palestine, had funded a trip made by Arab MK Ahmad Tibi.
“I tried to advance a similar measure in the past, but there was a dispute over who would determine the list of organisations and who would decide which group couldn’t legitimately fund trips for MKs,” Kish told Haaretz.
The Israeli newspaper said that the Knesset legal advisory team is examining the legal feasibility of Kish’s move and will provide its opinion in time for the next committee hearing.
For his part, Tibi said: “This is a transparent and arbitrary attempt to undermine MKs’ immunity and their freedom of movement. Boycotting the settlements is legitimate, as is everything happening with boycotting the occupation.”
He added: “We will continue to attend conferences of our choice, and I hope that the ethics committee will not turn into a government tool to restrict the opposition, including the Arab MKs. This flood of fascist legislation is the height of McCarthyism.”
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