Knesset legal adviser: Boycott law 'borderline unconstitutional'

Knesset Legal Adviser Eyal Yinon levied a harsh criticism against the "Boycott Law" on Monday, declaring it "borderline unconstitutional, and perhaps even more than that."

Yinon took particular issue with the wording of one specific clause in the law's text. He said the undefined nature of the term "boycott," coupled with the fact that it categorizes even calls to boycott as a civil offense, could lead to the stifling of political expression in Israel.

In a legal opinion prepared ahead of the Knesset debate on the law at the request of MK Yohanan Plesner (Kadima), Yinon wrote, "The bill touches the core of the right to freedom of political expression in a democratic country. For this reason, it is extremely important to find a more balanced ruling, one which would protect the interests of the law's sponsors without causing disproportionate harm to the basic right to freedom of expression."

Not defining the parameters of the crime beyond the simplistic terminology "a boycott on the state of Israel" paves the way for anyone hoping to turn a debate about settlements into a legal issue, Yinon argued. He said the wording of the law provides "legal grounds to sue over calls for a boycott, calls which are meant to influence the political debate over the future of Judea and Samaria. This debate has been at the core of the political disagreement in the state of Israel for more than 40 years."

The clause, Yinon said, could be changed so that individuals who choose to boycott over political ideologies or specific "hot-button" issues would find themselves subjected to litigation and sanctions, but calls to boycott over other social, ideological or religious grounds would continue to be viewed as politically controversial, yet legitimate.