Latest 'discriminatory' Knesset bill targets Palestinian teachers who 'sympathise' with attacks on Israel

The Israeli Knesset approved on Monday evening a bill that will allow for the dismissal of Palestinian teachers in Israel if they were deemed to be "sympathising with operations or attacks targeting Israel", the Palestinian news agency Wafa and local Arabic media reported.

The bill has gone through its second and third readings, despite criticism from the Arab Education Follow-up Committee (AEFC) which slammed it as an "attempt to promote a culture of fear and suppress free speech and critical education", according to Wafa.

The law would also allow the Minister of Education to withhold the budget of an educational establishment if it was "proven" that the staff at that school identify, sympathise, or show support for "terrorism".

Arabi21 reported that the law, submitted by MK Zvika Fogel from the Jewish Power party, mentions that teachers can be dismissed from their role without prior notice.

The news outlet said that discussions were also circulating, suggesting that the law could also include educational institutions located in Palestine and occupied east Jerusalem.

"The bill was supported by 55 member members of Knesset, while 45 opposed it," Fogel said.

He pointed out that the law would apply to any Palestinians who were convicted of serious security violations, had publicly expressed solidarity with "terrorist acts" or published a direct call for a hostile act to be carried out.

The explanatory notes of the bill allege it was introduced because there was a "phenomenon occurring in schools where teachers, and sometimes a school's management, show sympathy for terrorist acts. This phenomenon occurs mostly in east Jerusalem schools and involves inciting minors against the state of Israel".

Reports also state that the bill authorises the director general of the ministry of education to refuse to grant an employment permit to a teacher who is deemed to violate the law - unless an investigation is conducted.

In response, AEFC said they will be partnering up with human rights organisations to assess the possibility of filing a legal petition regarding the new bill, saying it was "nothing but an additional step in a systematic policy to subject Palestinian society inside the country to not present any critical thought that contradicts the prevailing thought and general approach".

Salam Irsheid, the attorney at the Adalah rights group, told The New Arab that the law is a direct attack on Palestinian identity and expression of national identity, as well as free speech that differs even slightly from the consensus in Israel. 

He also said the law was based on ambiguous criteria and "prepetuates the systematic use of counterterrorism by Israeli authorities as a pretext to suppress Palestinians' free speech and violate their rights". 

"It disregards the rule of law and due process, granting unfettered discretion to political entities that have historically shown hostility toward Palestinians...Ultimately, it will exacerbate a hostile environment in which Palestinians are silenced for fear of retribution," he continued. 

‘Wave of oppressive legislation’

Adalah warned in late October that the Israeli Knesset was set to pass a wave of new oppressive and discriminatory laws targeting Palestinians, including those who live in Israel.

The group stated there are currently over 70 oppressive laws in place which have an agenda of "heightening racial discrimination and controlling Palestinians", also outlining eight major bills that are at an advanced stage and poised to be passed as law.

The bills, described as draconian and an effort to exploit the attention on the war on Gaza to erode the rights of Palestinians, range from deportation as a form of collective punishment to cracking down on Palestinian education.

Another bill, now in the final stage of legislation, would allow Israeli authorities to sentence minors as young as 12 to imprisonment, extending as far as life sentences, if convicted of engaging in an act deemed "terrorism" or linked to a "terrorist organisation".

Adalah has further raised alarm over a bill that would revoke the welfare benefits to Palestinian parents of children who have been convicted of security offences, including throwing stones at vehicles, something the court has said amounts to a terrorist act.

The welfare benefits that will be stripped of them include alimony payments, education grants, children’s allowance and additional income support during the child’s imprisonment.