Israeli bill may make Nazi comparisons illegal

JERUSALEM — A proposed bill would make it a crime in Israel to criticize people by comparing them to Nazis.

The draft legislation would impose penalties of up to six months in jail and a $25,000 fine for using the word "Nazi" or Holocaust symbols for purposes other than teaching, documentation or research.

The draft legislation passed its first hurdle Monday when Cabinet ministers approved it. It now goes to the full parliament for a vote.

The bill was proposed after ultra-Orthodox demonstrators set off a furor by dressing young boys as Nazi concentration camp inmates during a protest against what they said was incitement against their community. Protesters have also called police "Nazis."

The bill has been criticized by civil rights groups that see it as infringing on freedom of expression.

[tiredofeverything]

"The draft legislation would impose penalties of up to six months in jail and a $25,000 fine for using the word "Nazi""

Sounds like something the Nazi's would do

[fwd23515]

Israel

--attacked the USS Liberty (1967) and killed almost three dozen American sailors.
--has stockpiled numerous atomic and hydrogen bombs.
--engages in organized espionage in America's government, military, and industry.
--is one of the world's largest arms exporters.
--discriminates against its citizens of Arab ethnicity.

And, now, Israel wants to deny its citizens one of the rights we hold most dear--the right to speak freely, even when it offends others.

With "friends" like Israel, who needs enemies?

[DovBenMen]

Israel:
- apologized and paid reparations to the United States for a war-time error that resulted in the deaths of US war fighters (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident)
- has never acknowledged nor denied the accusation it has nuclear weapon capability, no less weapons. Since the world is certain that Israel has never tested such a weapon, how reliable could such a device be, even if it existed? Any competent engineer would tell you "Certainly not reliable enough to use."
- Nearly every developed country uses organized espionage with other countries, and Israel is no exception. The good news is that the US spies on Israel too. So do the Chinese, the Russians, the French, .... Espionage is part of the normal way the world works. Thinking otherwise is Pollyanna.
- Where on that list of "arms exporters" is Israel? What is her market share, both absolutely and as a percentage of the largest exporters (what is called a Herfindahl-Hirschman Index measure)? Without data, you are merely whining.
- You are factually wrong: Israel's Arab citizens are not discriminated against in the least. Arabs who are present in Israel or in territory controlled or administered by Israel, but who are not citizens of the State of Israel, are not able to enjoy her constitutional protections to the same extent. Their fate lies with whatever the Palestinian Authority has chosen for how it will protect the rights of its citizens. Here is one example of that: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ee8_1195321817

[slownewsday2012]

by 13125551212
Or do you have no such concerns as to with whom the US trades?

====

I don't see any reason to give money to foreign countries. Are you a capitalist?

Do you also support oil subsidies and tax cuts for individuals and corporations?

[lucifersshadow]

"Anyone who fights with monsters should make sure that he does not in the process become a monster himself. And when you look for a long time into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you." Friedrich Nietzsche

By introducing a law like this, they become more like the Nazis they detest.

[Farver4girls]

Israel can ban the use of the word "Nazi" if Israel wants to. But the ban would be unconstitutional in the United States because it violates freedom of speech.

[jamesf94066]

I see NOTHING wrong with this.. What bugs me is the 6 million Jews dies in the holocaust Every one gets so upset - remember...remember - DAMN RIGHT we better REMEMBER- but we forget that Japanese killed more the 12 maybe as high as 23 MILLION people(the death marchs in the phillipines, Korea, China, Etc., etc. How about out friend a good ally - Joe Stalin - lets start at 24 MILLION OF HIS OWN PEOPLE- we will NEVER know - Idi Amin - 4-6 million OF HIOS OWN PEOPLE

Jews count a small %, but they have a BIG VOICE

[joesapper]

ya, so what does one compare the iranian leader when he repeatly say death to the jews and america?

[DidHeSayThat]

How much do we give Israel again? Who is the number one recipient of federal international welfare?

[slownewsday2012]

Why is the degree of freedom of speech in a distant country any business of yours, unless you are a citizen of that country?

====

Because we subsidize them.

I'm all for cutting off all foreign aid to, well, every country.

[slownewsday2012]

I see no reason to give trading nations any charity.

Aren't you a capitalist?

[markag55]

The Hasidim, or ultra-orthodox Jews from mostly Eastern Europe, still act as though they were in the 18th century, when the sect was created. It was created as an "antidote" to "Rabbinic Judaism".

These poor Eastern European Jews felt that the studious Rabbis, from the first exile from Israel by the Babylonians, almost 2600 years ago, who deliberated and decided what was "Jewish" (since Solomon's Temple and the ancient Israelites were destroyed and dispersed), by means of writing the oral laws down in the form of the Talmud, were impeding the "joy" of the ancient Israelites.

They came about in a period of pogroms and persecution in 18th century eastern Europe and decided to go against the scholarly "Rabbinical" School of Judaism, to found their own sect. Unfortunately, they became what we call the "ultra-orthodox", believing that they were the only ones who lived up to the commandments from the Bible. They act as they are the only "true" Jews; however the Sephardic (Spanish) and Mizrahi (Middle Eastern) Jews also have their version of what is "right"...as well as those who studied the Talmud's interpretation of the Old Testament.

The only reason the Hasidim have as much power in Israel as they do is that they make up about 10% of the population and are unafraid of making a fuss or starting riots to get their point front and center. They are, to most Jews around the world, the Jewish counterpart to the Taliban and other Muslim extremists around the world. They will do whatever it takes to make others submit to their version of Judaism. They will take away civil rights to substitute their version of Judaic law, which they often flaunt and falsify by their actions (if one is not supposed to work on the Sabbath, how can they condone throwing stones at cars or people driving?).

We seem to be entering a period of worldly "self-righteousness" when most of the great religions of the world are creating differences and wars, rather than choosing the peace upon which their various religions were born.

[TexFandango]

A rare, well-considered, and intelligent post. Thoughtful and interesting. Thanks!