Reuters

The Palestinians get up Lieberman's nose

A BILL to outlaw expressions of grief or mourning on the anniversary of Israel's independence is unlikely, in the end, to get onto Israel's statute book. Even if it did, it would probably be struck down by the Supreme Court. Still, the bill's endorsement on May 24th by the cabinet committee on legislation sent a shudder through liberal circles in the Jewish state—and appalled Palestinians everywhere. For it was a sign that the anti-Arab campaign of the new foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, earlier this year was not just electoral hype.

“This is a Zionist and patriotic bill,” said Alex Miller, a parliamentarian in Mr Lieberman's party, who submitted it. Palestinian Israelis who mark Israel's independence day as their people's nakba (catastrophe) “exploit the democratic and enlightened character of the State of Israel in order to destroy it from within”—and would be punishable under the bill by up to three years in prison.

Next on the agenda of Mr Lieberman's party, Yisrael Beitenu (Israel Our Home), is a “loyalty law” to require an oath of allegiance to the state on pain of forfeiting citizenship, or, in a less draconian version, welfare benefits. This, too, is aimed at citizens of Arab origin who make up a fifth of Israel's 7m people.

Yisrael Beitenu's success in the election in February, when it came third with 15 of the parliament's 120 seats, made Mr Lieberman the kingmaker. Tzipi Livni, leader of the centre-left Kadima party, which won most seats but struggled in vain to form a ruling coalition, wooed him assiduously, turning a blind eye to his views on human rights but making much of his acceptance of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. But Mr Lieberman plumped for his “natural allies” such as Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud on the hard right.

As Mr Netanyahu's foreign minister, Mr Lieberman now plays down his previous acceptance of the two states, which the prime minister balks at. Opponents of the Palestinian state have joined Mr Lieberman's cohorts in defending the nakba bill. “In this Knesset [parliament]”, observes a veteran Arab-Israeli member, Ahmad Tibi, “anything that's anti-Arab can pass, even if it says the sun rises in the west.” As if to prove his point, on May 27th a private member's bill was passed at a preliminary reading to make it a crime to publish opposition to Israel's existence as a Jewish and democratic state, if such publication is likely to lead to “acts of hatred or contempt or disloyalty to the state.”

But the Labour party, Mr Netanyahu's junior coalition partner, says it will leave the government unless the nakba bill is withdrawn. Three of Mr Netanyahu's ministers oppose it. It may yet be buried.