Not made in Israel? (Illustration)
Photo: Reuters
Bill calling for local production of State symbols nixed
Ministerial Committee on Legislation fails to pass bill calling for Israeli flags, all official State symbols to be manufactured solely in Israel
The government may be debating questions of civilian loyalty, but that did not stop the Ministerial Committee on Legislation from quashing a bill calling for all official State symbols to be manufactured solely in Israel.
The private bill was brought before the committee by Knesset members Shelly Yacimovich (Labor),
Ofir Akunis (Likud), Alex Miller (Yisrael Beiteinu) and Majalli Whbee (Kadima), who claims that over the past few years, the majority of State symbols – most notably the Israeli flag – are manufactured outside Israel.
"The national flag and all other State symbols are not your run of the mill commodities," Yedioth Ahronoth quoted the bill Monday.
"The detrimental harm to core national values aside, the matter also has financial and social implications. Israeli manufacturers cannot compete with the low production costs of third-world countries, and factories manufacturing the Israeli flags are struggling and are forced to lay off staff," said the bill's brief.
Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, and Interior Minister Eli Yishai supported the bill, but the rest of the committee opposed it, saying that it would be legislatively difficult to properly define the boundaries of the law.
A senior legal source told the newspaper the four MKs who devised the bill intend to appeal the committee's decision before the government plenum.
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