Adalah submits follow-up response to proposed 'camera law'

Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel submitted on September 3 2019 its comments to the memorandum regarding the amendment to the so-called "cameras law", which would allow political parties to install cameras at polling stations. The bill is intended to bypass the decision the Central Elections Committee chairman issued following Adalah’s petition.

In a letter to Israel's justice minister, interior minister, attorney general, and the Knesset speaker and legal advisor, Adalah specified that the bill's submission itself reinforces the claim of malicious intent of the Likud party against the Arab public, and is intended to legalize ethnic labeling of Arab voters. It also emphasizes that the approval of this kind of law would violate the privacy of voters, the freedom of elections and their equality.

Adalah, in the meanwhile, submitted an additional letter to the attorney general requesting an update on developments regarding the initiation of criminal investigations against the Likud faction.

This followed the letter submitted by Adalah calling on the attorney general’s to open a criminal probe  for suspected criminal violation of Article 119 of the Elections Law.

Adalah Attorney Sawsan Zaher stated:

"The attempt to enact a law that bypasses the decision of the Knesset Elections Committee chairman is in line with a broader view of the ruling party, which opposes separation of powers and judicial review. This time the matter concerns racist actions against Arab citizens and against their fundamental rights. The very thought that the rules of the game can be changed so close to the date of the election testifies to the loss of all restraints when it comes to the desire to continue to portray the Arab voters as a criminal population and to try to influence the results of the elections in a wrongful way. "