Israeli Culture Ministry Presents 'Loyalty' Draft Law
The Israeli Culture Minister Miri Regev on Wednesday presented a controversial bill to cut subsidies to cultural institutions deemed not to be "loyal" to the state.
The draft law would give Regev, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rightwing Likud party, the power to decide whether particular film and theatrical productions meet criteria for awarding grants.
These powers are currently held by the finance ministry, but Regev argues that they are not strictly enforced.
The bill is the latest in a series of disputes between largely leftwing cultural figures and Netanyahu's government.
Regev, presenting the bill before parliament's education committee, warned she would "not be an ATM."
Among the projects affected could be those that deny that Israel is a democratic and Jewish state, or those deemed to support Palestinian violence.
A film festival commemorating the Nakba (Catastrophe), the Arabic word for events leading to the creation of Israel and displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians, could be affected.
The text of the bill must be voted on in three parliamentary readings before becoming law.
While insisting she did not wish to impose "censorship and undermine freedom of expression", Regev said she intended to have "the authority to determine who should receive public money".
"Cultural institutions that engage in subversive activities against the state of Israel will not receive anything," she stressed.
The draft law has been denounced by the opposition, as well as by many artists and commentators.
"This text reflects an idiot patriotism," said Ilan Gilon, a member of the leftist Meretz party.
Earlier this month, a love story between an Israeli Jew and a Palestinian Muslim became an unlikely bestseller after Israel's education ministry said it could not be included in the high school curriculum.
Source: Agence France Presse
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