Czech lawmakers pass motion criminalizing boycotting ‘Israel’
Prague (QNN)- The lower house of the Czech parliament on Tuesday passed a resolution criminalizing criticism as well as calls for boycotts of the occupation state of ‘Israel’, deeming them antisemitism.
The non-binding resolution, which passed the Chamber of Deputies, condemns “all manifestations of anti-Semitism directed against individuals, religious institutions, organizations as well as the State of Israel, including the denial of the Holocaust.”
It further rejects “any questioning of the State of Israel’s right of existence and defense” and “condemns all activities and statements by groups calling for a boycott of the State of Israel, its goods, services or citizens.”
The resolution calls on the government in Prague not to offer any financial support to groups that criticize occupation and promote a boycott of the occupation state. It also urges the government to provide “greater security” to people and institutions that could become the target of anti-Semitic attacks.
Jan Bartošek, the head of the Christian Democrats faction in the chamber, who introduced the resolution, said the Czech Foreign Ministry helped formulate the wording of the resolution.
“I am convinced that Israel is our strategic partner and ally in the Middle East,” he said.
Citing the Yom Kippur attack on a synagogue in Halle, Germany, he added that it was “necessary to clearly define ourselves” against this trend.
“We regard Israel as our true ally in the fight against Islamic terrorism,” far-right MP Tomio Okamura said, saying the Jewish state “should be a role model” for his country.
Okamura ignored the fact that extremist right-wingers, with whom he himself share extremist beliefs, are the ones who carried out the attack on the synagogue in Halle not Muslims.
Israeli Foreign Minister, who is also a member in the Israeli right-wing, Israel Katz took to Twitter to hail the adoption of the “important resolution,” urging other nations’ parliaments to follow suit.
