There is new legislation in Israel designed to empty the Knesset of its Palestinian parties. Now, a three-quarters majority of the Knesset's members can expel an elected politician if they do not like his or her views. Israel considers itself a democratic state but this so-called Expulsion Law has no parallel in any democratic state in the world for it is designed to strictly circumscribe the rights of Israel's Palestinian minority and curb dissent. According to the final version of the bill, 70 Knesset members may file a complaint with the Knesset speaker against any lawmaker who supports armed struggle against Israel, kicking off the impeachment process. The Knesset House Committee would then debate the complaint before clearing it with a three-quarters majority in the committee. The motion to dismiss the lawmaker would then be sent to the plenum, where, if 90 of the 120 Knesset members vote in favor, the Knesset member would be ousted. There is no definition in the legislation of what constitutes "support". The Knesset will take into account the legislator's statements - and the majority's interpretation of them - not just actions or stated aims. Until now, a politician could be removed from the Knesset only if convicted of a serious crime. Obviously, the law violates all rules of democracy and the principle that minorities should be represented. It sends a message to the public that it is best to have a Jewish-only Knesset, one without Arabs. Although the law says it will be activated against any Knesset member who expresses a racist statement, apparently, to be an Israeli patriot is to be racist toward the Palestinians. Racism in Israel is just what Palestinians say, not what Jewish Knesset members say. Those advancing the law, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have done little to conceal their intention to use the measure against only Palestinian Knesset members. The constant incitement against the Palestinian minority from Netanyahu has gone to the street, where there is violence and attacks from Jews on Palestinian citizens which in turn leads to counter-attacks from Palestinians. The Israeli right had been waging a battle to rid the Knesset of Palestinian parties for some time. Over the past 15 years, the Central Elections Committee, which is dominated by Jewish parties, has repeatedly tried to ban Palestinian Knesset members from standing for election. However, the Israeli Supreme Court overturned the decisions on appeal. In 2014, the government tried a different route. It passed the Threshold Law, raising the proportion of votes needed to win a place in the Knesset. The threshold was set too high for the four small Palestinian parties in the Knesset to clear it. The move, however, backfired. The Palestinian parties responded by forming the Joint List and became one of the largest blocs in the Knesset after last year's general election. They have 13 seats and are currently the third largest faction in the Knesset. It was in this context that on the eve of the election, Netanyahu made his much-criticized comment warning that "Arabs are coming out in droves to the polls". The Expulsion Law is the latest in a series of laws designed to strictly circumscribe the rights of Israel's Palestinian minority and curb dissent. From the Knesset's approval of the Threshold Law, the Nakba Law to the Boycott Law, they are all intended, via various means, to silence the Arab public. There are no existing laws in Western democratic states comparable to Israel's new Expulsion Law. It is intended to expel Arab Knesset members who dare to stray beyond boundaries dictated to them by the Israeli Jewish majority, thus silencing the voice of the Palestinian Arab public. This is but the latest attempt by the government to trample on the political rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel who make up a fifth of Israel's population.
