Attorney General comes out against law allowing discrimination

Noam Sheizaf By Noam Sheizaf June 17, 2013 | Edit

A new bill allowing discrimination against Israelis who don’t serve in the army contradicts some of Israel’s Basic Laws, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein wrote in an opinion published Sunday evening. The bill, he added, will hurt population groups which are already discriminated against.

According to the draft legislation, favoring people who served in the IDF will not be considered discrimination nor will it be challengeable in court. Since Palestinian citizens of Israel are not required to serve in the military and most ultra-Orthodox are exempted from doing so, the new bill will give employers and real-estate owners a legal way to reject Palestinian applicants. Palestinians are already under-represented in the public sector and in access to national resources.

Yesterday (Sunday) The Knesset’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation decided to support the bill. Justice Minister Tzipi Livni has already announced that  she would appeal the decision, meaning that the Knesset votes on the bill will be postponed.

Related:
Israeli government to back law allowing discrimination against Palestinians, ultra-Orthodox

Noam Sheizaf

Noam Sheizaf is an independent journalist and editor. He was the founding executive director and editor-in-chief of +972 Magazine. Prior to joining +972, he worked for Tel Aviv’s Ha-ir local paper, Ynet, and the Maariv daily, where his last position was deputy editor of the weekend magazine. He is currently working on a number of documentary films.

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