The Israeli Institute for Democracy on Sunday challenged Israel’s coronavirus restrictions on entry into the country that left thousands of Israelis missing abroad, saying it marked a major decline in potential rights. violation of citizens’ right to vote in the forthcoming elections.
The institute submitted an opinion paper to Deputy Attorney General Raz Nizri who said the sweeping restrictions on the ability of Israeli citizens to return to the country from abroad are “very difficult from a constitutional point of view and are unconstitutional. in the democratic world. ”
The authors of the comment, Dr. Yuval Shany, Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer, Dr. Amir Fuchs, Dr. Guy Lurie, and Nadiv Mordechai, put together a comparative study of democracies around the globe that found Israeli restrictions to be the hardest. At present, entry and exit to the country is restricted, including citizens, except passengers whose entry has been approved by the “Exceptions Committee” appointed by it. the government.
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They cited Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, Russia Sweden and the United States as countries with different records of fighting the pandemic. coronavirus and various restrictions for foreign travelers, but all of which allow their own citizens to enter the country. .
“Notwithstanding the constitutional right of every person to leave Israel and the right of every citizen to return to the country, there is no general prohibition on entry and exit in accordance with the spirit of the provisions of the Fundamental Law: Human Loyalty and Freedom.” There is concern that the erosion of the affected rights is not proportionate, but appalling, even in spite of the current health challenge, ”the researchers wrote.
“This mechanism was implemented following the inability of the quarantine state to effectively enforce the return of those to Israel. This tape has led to the adoption of an approach that further harms the rights of quarantine citizens and has left many Israelis as refugees abroad in a global health crisis, ”he said.
The departure hall at Ben Gurion Airport on 25 January 2021. (Yossi Aloni / Flash90)
Israeli land and air gates have been virtually closed since Jan. 25, with Ben Gurion Airport closed for all but a few special flights by Israeli airlines to repatriate citizens. Health officials are concerned that more infectious strains of the coronavirus could reach the country from abroad, as is the case with the so-called British movement now accounting for almost all new coronavirus infections in the country.
The authors of the IDI opinion said “the major changes in policy – from one of a fully open airport, to a complete closure without warning, the unlawful arrest of citizens unknowingly who have visited abroad, with the full expectation that it would unable to return, and not allowing them to prepare accordingly – creating intolerable human circumstances.
“The state must find a response that is sound epidemiologically and constitutionally proportionate and must allow citizens to return home without delay,” they said.
The idea also said that restrictions on entry by citizens and permanent residents at this time could violate the right to vote in the upcoming elections because Israelis must be present in the country to cast their ballot. .
The idea was filed days after a television report last week stating that the majority of Israelis were allowed to enter the ultra-rectangular country, while in which many worldly people rejected them.
Politicians have been outraged by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the report, accusing him of allowing only right-wing voters to reach the country before the March 23 elections.
Channel 12 reported that 90 percent of those agreed to come to Israel at the time of the closure were Haredi, and many secular requests were rejected. The network claimed that much of Haredim was flying using fake licenses, and that some of their authors had obtained it through contact with ultra-orthodox politicians.
Ultra-Orthodox Israelis at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, on January 25, 2021. (Yossi Aloni / Flash90)
Defense and Justice Minister Benny Gantz warned on Saturday that he would not allow the closure of Ben Gurion Airport unless a Justice Ministry official took part in the panel’s deliberations, and that his criteria for meeting ‘approving or refusing to make applications public.
Gantz also said he would urge the government to make immediate plans to allow any Israelis who want to come to Israel to vote in those elections.
National elections – the fourth in two years – were called after the Likud and Blue and White power-sharing government agreed on a budget by the 23 December deadline. The election, like the previous three votes, is seen largely as a referendum on Netanyahu’s rule amid his ongoing test of corruption charges, as well as his government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
