Meretz Bill Would OK Shouting ‘Fire’ In Crowded Theater Of Jews

None of the other countries in the region have laws prohibiting calling for harm to Jews.

Jerusalem, October 19 – The current spate of violence has prompted the government to impose certain limits on basic freedoms and rights, including freedom of speech, but Opposition lawmakers claim now is the time to expand, not restrict, those freedoms, and Meretz has submitted a legislative proposal that would broaden permitted speech to include even shouting, “Fire!” in a crowded theater, provided the theater is full of Jews.

Meretz MK Tamar Zandberg authored the bill, which seeks to combat the bunker mentality of the current situation by injecting a dose of liberty into the discourse. “A heightened security dilemma is no excuse for a removal of basic human and civil rights,” Zandberg told reporters. “This is the time to increase, not cut, civil rights, given the discrimination at the root is the current violence. This law will make Israel the first country with such a broad definition of freedom of expression.”

Other Opposition figures hailed the proposal, which they said would address the glaring erosion of personal freedoms that the last several governments has facilitated. “The successive Netanyahu governments have curtailed freedom of expression, especially with the passage of the NGO Law,” said Balad MK Haneen Zoabi, referring to a law that requires NGOs operating in Israel to disclose all foreign funding. “The non-governmental sector has seen it become more and more difficult to directly call for the death of Jews, which is a serious infringement of freedom of speech.” Zoabi noted that none of the other countries in the region have laws prohibiting calling for harm to Jews, leaving Israel in the unenviable position of being less free in that respect than all of the surrounding countries – none of which are democracies.

As sweeping as the proposal may be, however, its passage is far from assured. The Coalition’s sixty-one seats give it the slimmest majority, but enough to block any unwanted legislation unless the bill’s sponsors can persuade Coalition lawmakers to support it. Further complicating matters, the Opposition itself includes several MKs unlikely to vote in favor, notably the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu. Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Liberman made it clear this week that his party would be unable to vote in favor of the bill, as it does not also include the freedom to yell, “Fire!” when there are Arabs in the theater.

Other lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed concern over the vagueness of the law’s terms. “There is not sufficient treatment of what constitutes a theater,” argued Labor MK Shelly Yechimovich. “What is more, ‘yelling’ is ill-defined. Is it a function of decibel level? Does ambient noise play a role? Does the term ‘theater’ include only the room where the showing occurs, or the ancillary passageways, foyers, restrooms, and other building facilities? If someone sets up a large projection screen in a public park, does that fall under the law’s requirements? I would have a hard time voting for such a poorly-defined law.”

At press time, MK Jamal Zahalka of Balad was at the Knesset podium, yelling, “Fire!”