Israel moves to ban racism

Press, 13 August 1986, Page 52

Israel moves to ban racism

NZPA-Reuter Jerusalem Israel’s Parliament has passed an anti-racism law after ensuring that Biblical passages referring to the Jews as the “Chosen People” would not be viewed as discrimination against non-Jews. The law was originally proposed to stop the activities of a militant, Rabbi Meri Kahane, an ultra-nationalist legislator who advocates the expulsion of all Arabs from Israel and the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

Israeli legislators said they would ban racism after Mr Kahane won a Parliamentary seat in 1984 on an anti-Arab platform that included a de-

mand to outlaw sexual relations between Jewish women and Arab men. Under the new law a person can be. jailed for up to five years for urging discrimination on the basis of race, colour, or ethnic background. Under pressure from Orothodox political parties the law does not mention religious discrimination and stipulates that calls for safeguarding Jewish rituals and the Jewish character of Israel cannot be viewed as racism. Last year, Parliament adopted a law banning socalled racist parties from running in elections. But unlike the latest legislation, it did not define racism.