Let's examine the recent restrictions and laws that are being promoted since the onset of the war. These less publicised government actions could potentially pose a threat to the safety of Israelis, under the pretext of "enhancing security":
The FOIA law
10 days ago, the Israeli government asked to freeze the FOIA law due to the war, and extend the time period that gov institutions can respond to a FOIA from 4 to 7 months. Due to public pressure and many civilian objections, the new FOIA maximum response period was set at 5 instead of 4 months, giving the government an additional 1 month delay to respond to FOIAs. (References 1, 2)
Live fire against Israeli protesters
Also 10 days ago, the government started to advance regulation which was pushed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir earlier this year, to allow police to use live fire against Israeli citizens who are blocking roads or entrances to towns during a “multi-front war”. I’ll say that again: police could open fire and shoot civilians’ legs if they block roads during war time.
Under this regulation, police would only need approval from a senior officer before opening fire. The Attorney General, which initially agreed to fast-track the legislation and bring it to vote, retracted her agreement a few days later, due to public pressure and objections from politicians. So the Overton window has been opened, and finally this is not happening right now. This draconian measure could be brought back in the future, as happened before. (References 1, 2, 3)
Freedom to protest
In another extreme move to limit freedom of assembly and protest, the police chief said last week that they “don’t allow any demonstrations and would act to disperse them” threatening to send [protesters] to Gaza in buses.” But a day later, in light of widespread public criticism, the police took it back and announced: "Following various publications, Israel police considers the right to protest as a cornerstone of a democratic state. During the war, protests of any kind will be allowed in accordance with the law and compliance with the police and Home Front Command conditions”.
We’ve seen something similar to this during Covid, the government tried to use its emergency powers under the enabling act to forbid people to protest, and they limited it at first to 100m from home, and then 1 km etc. Due to public resistance this was lifted and the freedom to protest was kept on the most part. (not without police violence, but that’s another story). My point here is that civilian resistance and non compliance works, we must not accept these draconian measures on our liberties, under any justification - war, virus, or end of the world climate change. (Reference 1)
Incitement & conspiracy theories
The Israeli police had set up a special task force to monitor speech online. This force, which was established in May 2023, has been operating on high speed since the war began: they’ve already imprisoned 103 suspects and 44 indictments have been filed in an expedited procedure against those who incite terrorism and express support for Hamas. Most of them were people who have shown support in Hamas terror actions or showed intention to harm others. The police taskforce is also working diligently to remove social media posts which are encouraging terror acts, about 1000 such posts have been removed already.
In my opinion, while any incitement to violence and support of a terrorist organisation are wrong, dangerous and should be handled, the slippery slope is allowing this special police taskforce to threaten citizens who raise different opinions, I’ll explain where I see this slope:
A week after the massacre, A police Sub-Commissioner released a deterrent note, referring to a number of Israelis who, since the beginning of the war, have been spreading “conspiracy theories” online hinting on an inside job, which he claims is “completely unfounded”. The sub-commissioner said those people are echoing Hamas or Iran conspiracy theories. “In cases where it is Israeli citizens who spread these fake theories, most of them are expected to soon find themselves in the police interrogation rooms. We will reach out to anyone who tries to harm the public's well being and safety by publishing such news or theories that the enemy is trying to echo in Israeli society.”
This can be transformed into an amendment to the law or a new law, if they should choose to take it one step further.
Remember, that such efficient handling of incitement, and such swift measures were NOT taken when people, including politicians and doctors incited against Israeli citizens during Covid. (References 1, 2, 3)
Agriculture aid & free speech
Israeli agriculture is in a dire situation; While Israeli farmers are suffering from shortage of employees, evacuation from fields in borders proximity, or having to close their agriculture businesses or farms, the Israeli ministry of agriculture has opened a “war room” to monitor online posts and media reports against the ministry, which is related to “food security” in order to “fight” those who express criticism. Rather than helping the farmers in need, the government is seeking further control over speech and protection of its reputation.
Two noteworthy developments:
1- The Israeli public has shown wholehearted support for our local agriculture and farming. It's evident that people recognize the critical role it plays in securing our future, with many individuals volunteering for tasks such as picking, sorting, working in the fields, transportation, and trading of goods.
2- Just yesterday, the Ministry of Agriculture announced significant aid, both financial and logistical, for our farmers. It appears that the heightened public awareness, robust support for our farmers, and mounting pressure on the authorities have compelled the ministry to step up and actively contribute. This showcases the remarkable power of civilian sovereignty.
Fight against terrorism bill
This week the Knesset is expected to approve the “fight against terrorism” bill according to which the systematic and continuous consumption of Hamas and ISIS content will, under certain circumstances, constitute a criminal offence, punishable by one year in prison. Originally, this bill aimed to criminalise anyone who would passively consume this kind of content, even if they just consumed it and took no action - no incitement, no call to action nor support of Hamas. It is a "thoughts police bill" - for merely thinking something you can end up in jail.
The association for human rights in Israel explains: “Following the public criticism of the bill’s original version, changes were introduced that slightly moderate its damage: the law in its new version requires additional external circumstances for criminalization, indicating identification with ISIS or Hamas, and the passive consumption of the publications is not enough. However, in the shadow of the ambiguity that surrounds many of the elements of the offence, which are subject to the interpretation of the authorities, it is highly doubtful whether this addition will reduce the harm inherent in the law and prevent the entanglement of innocent citizens suspected of terrorist offences.
Despite the change, it is still a law that is unprecedented in democratic countries, and will have a chilling effect on freedom of expression. There is a gap between the extreme cases that bother the Shin Bet, and which the law is intended to prevent, and the language of the law, which could lead to hurting innocent citizens who have no intention of committing terrorism.” (Reference 1)
Biometric identification
Another temporary provision that was approved for a strangely long period of one year, is related to biometric identification. In light of the terror acts on Oct. 7th, Israel was faced with the complex task of identifying a large number of victims - some of whom were almost impossible to recognize, as well as obtaining a status on the missing and kidnapped Israelis. The government’s solution was to use the biometric database of Israeli citizens for this essential and urgent purpose, which includes transferring information from the biometric database in the Ministry of the Interior to the police, Shabak, Intelligence Agencies and the IDF.
Those who disagree with this provision questioned why it was necessary to create it in the first place, as there are currently procedures in the existing law regarding information requests to security agencies. It was mentioned that this provision is essentially establishing a parallel, or even a bypassing, mechanism to the court and to the existing law. Furthermore, it is not limited to the tasks of identifying bodies and missing persons, but rather it allows security agencies to demand, receive and possess biometric identification data of a living person, who is not necessarily missing or suspected of being dead. (Reference 1)
Geez, these guys have a lot of confidence in their rules. So much so that if someone dares to ignore them, they risk their freedom. I wonder how many people will think about the nature of the freedom they are risking.
Wasn't that unbelievable? There is so much more at stake here than anyone realizes!!! It's not only the war and the "rules" but they have something like an 89% vaxed rate!
It's free! I copied and pasted some of it:
Let's examine the recent restrictions and laws that are being promoted since the onset of the war. These less publicised government actions could potentially pose a threat to the safety of Israelis, under the pretext of "enhancing security":
The FOIA law
10 days ago, the Israeli government asked to freeze the FOIA law due to the war, and extend the time period that gov institutions can respond to a FOIA from 4 to 7 months. Due to public pressure and many civilian objections, the new FOIA maximum response period was set at 5 instead of 4 months, giving the government an additional 1 month delay to respond to FOIAs. (References 1, 2)
Live fire against Israeli protesters
Also 10 days ago, the government started to advance regulation which was pushed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir earlier this year, to allow police to use live fire against Israeli citizens who are blocking roads or entrances to towns during a “multi-front war”. I’ll say that again: police could open fire and shoot civilians’ legs if they block roads during war time.
Under this regulation, police would only need approval from a senior officer before opening fire. The Attorney General, which initially agreed to fast-track the legislation and bring it to vote, retracted her agreement a few days later, due to public pressure and objections from politicians. So the Overton window has been opened, and finally this is not happening right now. This draconian measure could be brought back in the future, as happened before. (References 1, 2, 3)
Freedom to protest
In another extreme move to limit freedom of assembly and protest, the police chief said last week that they “don’t allow any demonstrations and would act to disperse them” threatening to send [protesters] to Gaza in buses.” But a day later, in light of widespread public criticism, the police took it back and announced: "Following various publications, Israel police considers the right to protest as a cornerstone of a democratic state. During the war, protests of any kind will be allowed in accordance with the law and compliance with the police and Home Front Command conditions”.
We’ve seen something similar to this during Covid, the government tried to use its emergency powers under the enabling act to forbid people to protest, and they limited it at first to 100m from home, and then 1 km etc. Due to public resistance this was lifted and the freedom to protest was kept on the most part. (not without police violence, but that’s another story). My point here is that civilian resistance and non compliance works, we must not accept these draconian measures on our liberties, under any justification - war, virus, or end of the world climate change. (Reference 1)
Incitement & conspiracy theories
The Israeli police had set up a special task force to monitor speech online. This force, which was established in May 2023, has been operating on high speed since the war began: they’ve already imprisoned 103 suspects and 44 indictments have been filed in an expedited procedure against those who incite terrorism and express support for Hamas. Most of them were people who have shown support in Hamas terror actions or showed intention to harm others. The police taskforce is also working diligently to remove social media posts which are encouraging terror acts, about 1000 such posts have been removed already.
In my opinion, while any incitement to violence and support of a terrorist organisation are wrong, dangerous and should be handled, the slippery slope is allowing this special police taskforce to threaten citizens who raise different opinions, I’ll explain where I see this slope:
A week after the massacre, A police Sub-Commissioner released a deterrent note, referring to a number of Israelis who, since the beginning of the war, have been spreading “conspiracy theories” online hinting on an inside job, which he claims is “completely unfounded”. The sub-commissioner said those people are echoing Hamas or Iran conspiracy theories. “In cases where it is Israeli citizens who spread these fake theories, most of them are expected to soon find themselves in the police interrogation rooms. We will reach out to anyone who tries to harm the public's well being and safety by publishing such news or theories that the enemy is trying to echo in Israeli society.”
This can be transformed into an amendment to the law or a new law, if they should choose to take it one step further.
Remember, that such efficient handling of incitement, and such swift measures were NOT taken when people, including politicians and doctors incited against Israeli citizens during Covid. (References 1, 2, 3)
Agriculture aid & free speech
Israeli agriculture is in a dire situation; While Israeli farmers are suffering from shortage of employees, evacuation from fields in borders proximity, or having to close their agriculture businesses or farms, the Israeli ministry of agriculture has opened a “war room” to monitor online posts and media reports against the ministry, which is related to “food security” in order to “fight” those who express criticism. Rather than helping the farmers in need, the government is seeking further control over speech and protection of its reputation.
Two noteworthy developments:
1- The Israeli public has shown wholehearted support for our local agriculture and farming. It's evident that people recognize the critical role it plays in securing our future, with many individuals volunteering for tasks such as picking, sorting, working in the fields, transportation, and trading of goods.
2- Just yesterday, the Ministry of Agriculture announced significant aid, both financial and logistical, for our farmers. It appears that the heightened public awareness, robust support for our farmers, and mounting pressure on the authorities have compelled the ministry to step up and actively contribute. This showcases the remarkable power of civilian sovereignty.
Fight against terrorism bill
This week the Knesset is expected to approve the “fight against terrorism” bill according to which the systematic and continuous consumption of Hamas and ISIS content will, under certain circumstances, constitute a criminal offence, punishable by one year in prison. Originally, this bill aimed to criminalise anyone who would passively consume this kind of content, even if they just consumed it and took no action - no incitement, no call to action nor support of Hamas. It is a "thoughts police bill" - for merely thinking something you can end up in jail.
The association for human rights in Israel explains: “Following the public criticism of the bill’s original version, changes were introduced that slightly moderate its damage: the law in its new version requires additional external circumstances for criminalization, indicating identification with ISIS or Hamas, and the passive consumption of the publications is not enough. However, in the shadow of the ambiguity that surrounds many of the elements of the offence, which are subject to the interpretation of the authorities, it is highly doubtful whether this addition will reduce the harm inherent in the law and prevent the entanglement of innocent citizens suspected of terrorist offences.
Despite the change, it is still a law that is unprecedented in democratic countries, and will have a chilling effect on freedom of expression. There is a gap between the extreme cases that bother the Shin Bet, and which the law is intended to prevent, and the language of the law, which could lead to hurting innocent citizens who have no intention of committing terrorism.” (Reference 1)
Biometric identification
Another temporary provision that was approved for a strangely long period of one year, is related to biometric identification. In light of the terror acts on Oct. 7th, Israel was faced with the complex task of identifying a large number of victims - some of whom were almost impossible to recognize, as well as obtaining a status on the missing and kidnapped Israelis. The government’s solution was to use the biometric database of Israeli citizens for this essential and urgent purpose, which includes transferring information from the biometric database in the Ministry of the Interior to the police, Shabak, Intelligence Agencies and the IDF.
Those who disagree with this provision questioned why it was necessary to create it in the first place, as there are currently procedures in the existing law regarding information requests to security agencies. It was mentioned that this provision is essentially establishing a parallel, or even a bypassing, mechanism to the court and to the existing law. Furthermore, it is not limited to the tasks of identifying bodies and missing persons, but rather it allows security agencies to demand, receive and possess biometric identification data of a living person, who is not necessarily missing or suspected of being dead. (Reference 1)
Geez, these guys have a lot of confidence in their rules. So much so that if someone dares to ignore them, they risk their freedom. I wonder how many people will think about the nature of the freedom they are risking.
Wasn't that unbelievable? There is so much more at stake here than anyone realizes!!! It's not only the war and the "rules" but they have something like an 89% vaxed rate!