2015-04-14

On Monday the Supreme Court received a petition, filed by attorney and I’lam legal co-ordinator Alaa Abdallah, and attorney of the Association for Civil Rights Dan Yakir. The petition contests a number of items from the 1933 Journalism Ordinance, and the 1945 Defence (Emergency) Regulations, which impose restrictions on the freedom of the press in Israel.
The petition demands the removal of the need to request permission from the Minister of the Interior prior to the printing or publication of a newspaper, which is stated in Article IV of the 1933 Journalism Ordinance, which was adopted by the Israeli state from the British mandate. Currently, under this law, failing to request such permissions and gaining an advanced license before publishing can result in penalties, including a fine and up to six months in prison. Furthermore, Article XIX entitles the Minister of the Interior to issue an arrest warrant if a newspaper publishes content that the Minister believes would endanger public security or, in the Minister’s opinion, is false or misleading.