Similar bills are already underway in France and the US, MK Bezalel Smotrich notes.
MK Bezalel Smotrich (Jewish Home) submitted a bill Tuesday that would allow the State of Israel to close mosques which incite terror attacks against Jews and Israelis.
Smotrich’s bill follows similar initiatives in France and the US, and the draft already has widespread support, with signatories from Jewish Home, Likud, and Kulanu.
“We will use every tool at our disposal,” Smotrich said. “With terrorism, we must deal with the roots and not just the endpoints.”
“Arab incitement is a well-oiled machine, and the platform upon which terrorism grows – and it’s time to take care of it,” he continued. “We will not allow the use of mosques as a fertile ground for incitement and terrorism.”
“Today we say enough,” he added. “Enough to incitement in the name of religion, to stop killing in the name of religion. It is time to restore deterrence to Israel, and this bill sends a clear message: we will be where incitement is.”
The explanatory notes to the law states, “For many years Israel has faced horrific terrorist attacks. In recent years we have witnessed the phenomenon of barbaric terror increasing worldwide, including beheadings, and shooting innocent people, by both groups and individuals.”
“Studies show that often terrorist acts are the result of wild incitement by religious leaders in the mosques, wherein the speaker rouses the audience through passionate calls to take up ‘jihad for Allah,'” it continues. “While this behavior was banned many years ago in the Penal Code, no legislation has been made against the places where these incitements to violence occur.”
“This proposal would ensure that such cases of incitement to terrorism, calling for a popular uprising, their efforts will be blocked and the infrastructure of incitement uprooted by issuing a closure order for the structure,” it adds, noting the purpose is to “ensure public safety and fight growing incitement.”
Why more laws when there are already laws long on the books providing for the arrest and jailing of those who incite to kill Jews? The already existing laws are not enforced against Bibi’s beloved “peace partners” nor their liter mates. Buildings do not incite to kill Jews, Bibi’s “peace partners” do. Jail or expell these, “Bibi’s peace partners and their liter mates”, they are the problem, not buildings.
This reminds me of Ehud Barak and his often bombing of empty fields, oh how he punished those empty fields. Yet I never saw those empty fields harming Jews, not even one time, duh …..
Ah, for the return to Israel of leaders who dared to speak back, even to American leaders who threatened “to punish Israel”, are we but children of 14 who misbehave who you slap across the knuckles. Are we a banana republic …… No, we will not pay attention to such threats …..
Now enter on the scene the ultimate wimp, the internationally acclaimed liar, “no there is no construction freeze” …..
they need much more: they need laws which severley criminalize lies and libels against the state. the justification for such laws is that history proves that the lies and libels of the past 2000 years always preceded the slaughters of Jews. Hence, the lies and libels must be viewed in the perspective of intention to incite the murder/genocide of jews. The laws should be written that such libels are prima facie evidence of intent to incite to murder. In these cases the proof of the libel will be also the proof of incitement to murder. Such cases must be given mandatory penalties of citizenship loss, residency loss and deportation. This would reflect the true history of the Jewish people in the diaspora and would serve as a real example of “never again”. If not, then Israel is encouraging the same blood libel genocidal MO of the past 2000 years.