Attorney General sees major constitutional problems in Boycott Law

"The bill contains significant constitutional problems," stated Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein in an opinion on the Boycott Law, which the Knesset passed in its second and third readings on Monday."

"Given these problems, discussions ahead of the legislating of this law included contacts between various Ministry of Justice officials and the persons who submitted the bill. During these talks, we made various recommendations to make the bill more proportional, so that it will meet our concept of constitutional tests in line with Supreme Court rulings on these issues. Some of the recommendations were accepted in the final version, and others were not," Weinstein stated.

The Boycott Law imposes sanctions against any person or organization that calls for a boycott of Israel or groups within it on the basis of geographical location. This reference means Jewish settlements over the 1967 Green Line. Human rights organizations have already petitioned the High Court of Justice against the law.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 13, 2011