The Israeli Referendum Law - First Thoughts

Linked is the text of the Israel referendum law that was just passed (in Hebrew), I skimmed through its 43 pages to get a general idea of what it says.

The law is actually not just about ceding land, but about approving a treaty that involves ceding land.

My summation of the law is as follows:

Any treaty involving the ceding/transfer of land away from the sovereignty of the state of Israel, (JS: including for instance the Golan which was annexed) to a foreign party would require a Knesset vote, with 80 votes ‘for’ the transfer.

If there is a majority of only between 61-79 vote ‘for’ the treaty which includes ceding any land (JS: and this part isn’t clear to me because of their choice of words, but presumably this would even include Tel Aviv, or other land swaps), then the vote would go to a referendum, where the public would decide.

The law, as I understand it right now, has its pros and cons.

There is a law on the books (law #97, thanks Jameel for looking it up) forbidding the transfer of any land under Israeli sovereignty to any foreign power. Any attempt to do would be considered an act of treason and the penalty is death or life in prison.

מי שעשה, בכוונה ששטח כלשהו יצא מריבונותה של המדינה או ייכנס לריבונותה של מדינת חוץ, מעשה שיש בו כדי להביא לכך, דינו - מיתה או מאסר עולם

Of course, this law is completely ignored, so it didn’t really matter if it is on the books.

During Oslo, Yitzchak Rabin openly bought the votes of 2 politicians to pass Oslo in the Knesset just to get a 61 majority, and we’ve been paying for that perfidy every since.

Ariel Sharon ran ram shod over every democratic institution to destroy Gush Katif (firing cabinet ministers who opposed him, blackmailing Bibi with the threat to destroy the economy if Bibi didn’t vote ‘for’, ignoring the internal vote in the Likud, etc.), and he too wouldn’t have otherwise had a 61 majority.

So in retrospect, a law like this would have at least added another layer of protection from politicians like these, especially when, in terms of Gush Katif, there was a huge public majority against Sharon and against the Expulsion, and when the majority of citizens didn't want Oslo once people started dying in the streets and restaurants.

On the downside, it legalizes the very concept that any land in Israel is negotiable and can be given away; a fundamentally bad idea in of itself.

Furthermore, this law can also be overturned at any time with a vote of 61.

There are other pros and cons, but these are my first thought on the subject. Perhaps I’ll address more in the future.


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Protecting Israel's Democracy

An interesting piece of legislation is about to be presented to the Knesset for its second and third reading (which would make it law), having passed today in the Knesset House Committee.

The "Referendum Law" states that should the Israeli government approve a withdrawal from territory under full Israeli sovereignty (i.e., the Golan Heights, Eastern Jerusalem, parts of pre-1967 Israel alongside the Gaza strip, but not Yehuda vShomron/West Bank) – then the decision will be put to a vote in the Knesset. Once passed in the Knesset, a national referendum will be held within 180 days. Only a vote of 80 (or 90) Knesset members or more can prevent a referendum from being required to implement the withdrawal.

This law's origin is based on the problem that Israeli politicians routinely run on one platform, and then do an about-face after elections, and reject their previous platform. Examples include Yitzchak Rabin and the Oslo Accords, in which the entire issue was hidden from the public's eye till it was announced. The Oslo 2 Accords only passed in the Knesset by a 1 person majority (61-59) after Rabin bribed 2 MKs to abandon their party's platform in exchange for a Ministerial position and a Mitsubishi car and driver.

Ariel Sharon, the previous "champion of Israel's security and supporter of Jewish settlement" did a radical about face in the middle of his term, leading Israel's disengagement from Gaza, despite having won the election against the publicly stated disengagement platform of the head of the Labor party, Amnon Mitzna. This also despite Sharon's promise to abide by the public referrendum of the Likud party's membership on the issue of Disengagement, in which the Disengagement idea was rejected by an overwhelming 69% to 29%.

What I found amazing was an interview with MK Daniel Ben-Simon (Labor) who announced on IDF radio this morning that this law was a threat to democracy and would diminish the sovereignty of the Knesset.

The "sovereignty of the Knesset"? By putting a vote into the hands of the people, that impedes the representatives of the people? That impacts our democracy?

This need for this law is further reinforced by yesterday's acquittal of MK Tzachi Hanegbi. Hanegbi was cleared on the charges of fraud, breach of trust, and electoral bribery in the Jerusalem Magistrates' Court. He was charged on just one count in the indicted filed against him in 2006: perjury.

Quoted on IDF radio, Hanegbi stated that the conviction of perjury was only a minor issue, tacked on to the end of the indictment. If the court doesn't rule that Hangbi's perjury carries the stain of "Kalon" (moral turpitude) , this will herald his return as a major player in Israeli politics and a leader within the Kadima party.

Since when is perjury such a petty crime, that when committed by a politician that it be ignored and minimized as a "minor issue." I assume that since politicians in Israel lie all the time, why should any politician even be expected not to lie under oath?

Tzippi Livni considers herself Mrs. Clean, and Kadima to be the "clean hands party" -- yet to allow Hanegbi to continue in the party after a conviction of perjury (with, or without the official court declaration of "kalon") demonstrates the worst of Israeli politics and utter disregard of the law.

If we want to protect Israel's democracy, we need to protect ourselves from politicians in Kadima and the Labor party that moan about Israelis wanting to decide for themselves about Israel's future and not leave it in the hands of immoral criminals housed in the Knesset.

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