Adalah: Motion to Expel Israeli Knesset Member for Supporting South Africa’s ICJ Case Is Unlawful
Today, 30 January 2024 the Knesset’s (the Israeli parliament) House Committee in a majority vote of 14-2, recommended the expulsion of Hadash (Jabha) Member of Knesset (MK) Ofer Cassif from the legislature following a quasi-judicial process it held. This decision marks the first instance of such a vote to expel an MK. The Knesset Plenum will now conduct a vote, and for the expulsion of MK Cassif to be approved, a minimum of 90 out of the 120 MKs must vote in favor. The motion to expel MK Cassif from the Israeli Knesset is primarily based on his public support for South African’s application accusing Israel of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, which according to the Committee, constitutes 'support for an armed struggle against the State of Israel.'
Ahead of the session, on 28 January, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, sent an urgent letter to Knesset members, the legal advisor, and Israel’s Attorney General. Adalah demanded the immediate dismissal of the motion, asserting that the facts underlying it do not provide grounds for expulsion from the Knesset as per the authority vested under Amendment No. 44 to the Basic Law: the Knesset, commonly referred to as the ‘Expulsion Law’.
CLICK HERE to read the letter (Hebrew)
According to Amendment No. 44, enacted in 2016, a three-quarters majority of Knesset members (90 out of 120) is permitted to remove a sitting Knesset member on two potential grounds: 1) incitement to racism, and 2) support for an armed struggle against the State of Israel. During the Knesset hearing, MK Oded Forer (Yisrael Beteynu) who initiated the petition to expel Cassif, emphasized: “I hope we will put an end to supporting terrorism against the State of Israel and its soldiers in the name of freedom of expression”.
In the letter, Adalah's General Director Dr. Hassan Jabareen argued that MK Cassif's statements opposing war and the ongoing harm to the civilian population, both Israeli and Palestinian, do not constitute any form of support to armed struggle against the State of Israel. Adalah stressed that the accusations outlined in the motion, particularly the central claim regarding Cassif's endorsement of South Africa’s application to the ICJ, fail to meet the criteria outlined in the 'Expulsion Law' as interpreted by the Israeli Supreme Court. These allegations do not provide a sufficient legal basis for the termination of Cassif's tenure in the Knesset.
In a 2016 petition to the Israeli Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the Expulsion Law, Adalah and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel argued that if upheld, the law will be used as a tool for ideological persecution of the minority by the majority. The law opens the door to majoritarian control of the Knesset, by creating a situation in which MKs can oust their colleagues for virtually any politically-motivated reason and without any substantive process.
HCJ 10214/16, MK Yousef Jabareen, et al. v. The Knesset
CLICK HERE read more about the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the petition
Adalah added:
“The motion to expel MK Cassif from the Knesset represents a grave violation of the right to vote and to be elected, and the right to political expression. It is a deliberate attempt to suppress political dissent against Israel's brutal military campaign on Gaza. In this motion, the Knesset not only expresses the view that South Africa's pursuit for justice and accountability for Palestinians in Gaza is an 'armed struggle against Israel,' but also targets Palestinian and Israeli citizens' political representatives for supporting such pursuit. This case marks a direct extension of the nearly four-month-long crackdown on Palestinians’ free speech and expressions of dissent.”
Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90
