The Knesset Ethics Committee banned two Arab deputies from the Joint List, Yosef Jabareen and Haneen Zoabi from traveling abroad to give speeches and participate a US speaking tour hosted by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
JVP calls to boycott Israel because of its practices in the occupied Palestinian Territory and other activities in Europe.
Ethics Committee Chairman Yitzhak Vaknin of the ultra-Orthodox religious political party (Shas), said that the committee requested information about the JVP from the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, which had blacklisted the group.
Member of Kenesst Jabareen, who is reportedly set to appeal the decision to the Israeli Supreme Court, described the “travel ban” as “a serious blow to my freedom in my political activity as a Knesset member”.
“Without funding from the group inviting me I obviously won’t be able to travel to the US due to the high costs. Participating in conferences and giving speeches is a significant part of my job as an elected official, and it is unthinkable that I be prevented from doing that job.”
On the other hand, MK Zoabi applied for funding for travel to Ireland through the Irish-Palestinian Solidarity Society for political lectures, which the Ethics Committee also rejected.
She slammed the decision as political interference in parliamentary public tasks of a lawmaker, and shows bias.
More so, MK Zoabi said that the Kenesst is not interfering with the work of all MKs, but is targeting members who hold certain political opinions. She said that it is mainly directed against Arab lawmakers.
The Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs has drawn up a blacklist including many international human rights organizations for them endorsing a boycott against Israel.
Zoabi described the “blacklist” as a fascist approach.
“We are in a country that is behaving in a fascist manner with racist laws,” she said.
