Amid the nationwide protests that took place in Israel this past Tuesday, the Knesset plenum approved in the first reading a bill to increase the punishment for sexual offenses on a national basis initiated by two members of the Knesset from the coalition and the opposition Limor Son Har Melech and Yulia Malinovsky.
The draft for the law clarifies the anti-terrorism law so that it is made clear that committing an offense that is an act of terrorism also includes a sexual offense as defined in the Penal Code and for which it will be possible to determine the doubling of the punishment and no more than 25 years in various stipulations.
During an Israeli Knesset vote on a “terrorism” bill last Wednesday, Palestinian politician and Member of Knesset, Ayman Odeh, was cut off and removed from the podium after showing his support for Palestinians in Jenin. In the same time Pro-democracy protesters were violently… pic.twitter.com/DOMjwLACtR
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In addition, the proposal seeks to amend section 144f of the Penal Code, which deals with crimes that incite racism or hostility towards the public, and to add the crime of sexual harassment as one of the crimes for which the punishment will be doubled, except for crimes for which the punishment is ten years or more. It was further determined that the law on sexual harassment should be amended so that a court will be entitled to award a double amount of compensation for sexual harassment or for harassment committed out of a motive of racism without proof of damage.
The proposal also states that the State Attorney will report to the National Security Committee once a year on the number of indictments filed for a sexual offense or racially motivated harassment and a sexual offense that is an act of terrorism. In addition, the Commissioner of Police will report on the opening of investigation files for these types of cases.
There is good news today in Israel. The Knesset, Israel's legislative body, passed the first reading of a bill to end judicial supremacy. Current policy allows judges to overturn any law passed by the Knesset or cabinet decisions on the sole basis of a "reasonableness" standard.…
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The explanation reads for the law drafted: "In recent years, the phenomenon of nationalist terrorism has intensified. Every day there are reports of women being sexually harassed on the basis of their religious identity. The phenomenon has intensified to the point that in various regions of the country, in the north, in the south, and even in the city of Tel Aviv, women are afraid to go out for sports activities or to go out alone at night. In the penal law, it is established that the person who commits an offense with a motive of racism or of hostility towards the public because of religion or belonging to a religious group is sentenced to double the punishment. This arrangement does not currently apply explicitly in relation to behaviors that constitute sexual harassment according to the law for the prevention of sexual harassment and the purpose of this bill is to amend this current situation."
