Israeli Supreme Court Orders Knesset to Explain Refusal to Hear MK Dr. Ahmad Tibi’s Proposed Nakba Bill; Expands Panel to Seven Justices for Next Hearing

(Haifa, Israel) On 20 June 2012, the Israeli Supreme Court issued an order nisi (an order to show cause) instructing the Speaker of the Knesset to explain in full by 30 July 2012 why the Knesset Presidium did not allow the introduction of a bill, proposed by MK Dr. Ahmad Tibi, that would amend the “Nakba Law” enacted in March 2011 and prohibit Nakba denial. This decision was handed down following a hearing on a petition submitted by Adalah on behalf of MK Tibi last year challenging the Knesset Presidium’s decision to block the bill.  Adalah General Director Attorney Hassan Jabareen filed the petition and represents MK Tibi before the court.

Due to the serious constitutional questions raised by the case regarding the Knesset’s powers, the Supreme Court also decided to expand the panel at the next court hearing from three to seven justices, to be presided over by Chief Justice Grunis.

The Knesset’s legal advisor wrote in response to the petition that MK Tibi’s proposed bill centered around remembrance of the Nakba, which Arabs in Israel commemorate on the Israeli national Independence Day. Awareness-raising of the Nakba on this day could potentially overshadow Independence Day, and therefore the proposed law violates one of the special means of preserving the Jewish nature of the state of Israel.

Adalah’s petition stressed that MK Tibi knew that the Knesset would not pass his proposed prohibition of “Nakba denial” bill in a general vote. However, one of his duties as a representative of the Palestinian minority in Israel is to raise the issue of the Nakba and the historical narrative of his constituency. The bill aimed to challenge the majority’s denial of the Nakba, and to show that incorporating the Nakba into the national historical ethos is necessary, especially when striving for future mutual recognition and a shared historical narrative between the peoples.

Attorney Jabareen argued that the Knesset Presidium’s decision seriously affects the rights of all minority members in the parliament, parliamentary freedom of expression, and equality among members of the Knesset. He emphasized that, "The discussion about the Nakba took place in the context of the 'Nakba Law'. In this debate, there were those who favored it and those who opposed it, but no one raised issues during this law’s debate that prevented its discussion on the Knesset floor. MK Tibi wants to challenge the 'Nakba Law,” in particular one paragraph of the law that he believes is racist. The decision to prevent the proposed bill from being heard, even after the coalition government discussed the same subject and held extensive hearings in committees and in the general body, is discriminatory and arbitrary.”

The refusal to allow the introduction of the proposed amendment to the "Nakba Law" is the first case in the history of the Knesset to reject a bill based on Section 134 (c) of the Knesset regulations, which allow the Presidium to disqualify a bill in advance for denying the existence of Israel as a Jewish state.

Read more:

Jerusalem Post, “Rivlin must explain rejection of Tibi Nakba bill,” 20/6/2012

Adalah Media Advisory on Hearing, 19/6/2012

Adalah Press Release “MK Tibi Petitions Israeli Supreme Court against the Knesset’s decision to disqualify bill prohibiting Nakba denial,” 21/7/2011