The Ministerial Committee for Legislation will convene on Sunday to deliberate a legislative proposed that would prohibit the photography or documentation of IDF soldiers in the course of their duties.
Yisrael Beytenu faction chairman Robert Ilatov initiated the draft legislation, which would put in place severe penalties on violators, with the support of Defense Minister and Yisrael Beytenu party head Avigdor Lieberman.
According to the wording of the draft bill, "Anyone who filmed, photographed and/or recorded soldiers in the course of their duties, with the intention of undermining the spirit of IDF soldiers and Israel's residents will be sentenced to five years' imprisonment. Anyone who intends to harm state security will be sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment."
In addition to the prohibition on documenting IDF soldiers, the legislation would also prohibit the distribution of such materials to traditional media outlets and on social media networks.
Ilatov said he was introducing the bill in response to what he called the "harassment" of IDF soldiers working to break up the violent protests organized by Hamas on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip by left-wing activists. Activists have been seen interfering with the operations of soldiers who had blocked their path to the border, accusing them of war crimes and calling them "terrorists."
According to the abstract of the bill, "For many years, the State of Israel has been witness to a worrying phenomenon of [people] documenting IDF soldiers. This is done through the use of still and video footage and audio recordings by anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian organizations like B'Tselem, Checkpoint Watch, Breaking the Silence and various BDS [boycott, divestment and sanctions] organizations. In many instances, the organizations spend entire days alongside IDF soldiers, waiting with bated breath for activity that will enable them to document [them] in a tendentious and biased manner – through which they cast shame on them.
"The documentation is done mainly while interfering with the ongoing activities and operations of IDF soldiers, sometimes even with accusations and insults said to their faces. A majority of those organizations are supported by associations and governments with a blatant anti-Israel agenda, which use this biased content to harm the State of Israel and its security."
Ilatov said, "The time has come to put an end to this lawlessness. It cannot be that every left-wing activist or organization that is supported by foreign entities gains free, unhindered access to document IDF soldiers in the course of their duties. We have a responsibility to provide IDF soldiers with the optimal conditions to carry out their roles, without them needing to fear some left-wing activist or organization will distribute their picture to shame them."
