Israel bans boycotts against West Bank settlements or the state

Israel passed a controversial law Monday that bans calls for boycotts against the state, its institutions or settlements in the West Bank.

The new legislation, passed by the Israeli Parliament 47-36, makes calls for economic, social or cultural boycotts against the state a punishable offense, the New York Times reports. Offenders could face lawsuits, companies could be disqualified from doing government work and non profits could risk losing their tax benefits, it states.

The law has been highly criticized by civil rights groups and liberal Israelis who argue that it stifles freedom of speech and erodes Israeli democracy, BBC reports.

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It follows others efforts by the current Israeli Parliament to promote legislation that more liberal Israelis see as undemocratic, the Times reports.

The legislation, called the Boycott Bill, comes after there were several calls to boycott Jewish institutions located in the settlements, which the Palestinians claim as part of their future homeland, BBC reports.

"The State of Israel has for years been dealing with boycotts from Arab nations, but now we are talking about a homegrown boycott," the author of the legislation, lawmaker, Zeev Elvin, reportedly told the Associated Press. Elvin is part of Likud, the conservative party. "It is time to put an end to this travesty. If the State of Israel does not protect itself, we will have no moral right to ask our allies for protection from such boycotts."

Critics responded sharply to the legislation.

“I do not know of anything that creates more delegitimization of Israel abroad than these laws," Ilan Gilon, a legislator from the leftist Meretz Party, told the Times.

An editorial in the Jerusalem Post argues that the law might achieve the opposite of its desired effect.

"Attempts to legitimize Jewish presence in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem through the stifling of criticism may just achieve the opposite, by providing [boycott, divestment and sanctions] proponents with a truly worthy cause to champion – their own right to freedom of expression," it states.

The legislation has also been denounced by Palestinians, whose leadership has said passage of the bill threatens the renewal of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, YNet News reports.

Groups have made plans to challenge the law in Israel's Supreme Court.