In US freedom of speech law, the "Clear-and-Present-Danger" doctrine protects the government's interest in maintaining order and morale during wartime. As long as Israel is surrounded by enemies who seek its destruction, it is in a state of perpetual war. Participants in the 2008 Nakba Day protests expressed support for armed struggle against the State and threatened violence by the Aksa Martyrs Brigades. US Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote, "The question...is whether the words used are...of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that the United States Congress has a right to prevent...When a nation is at war, many things that might be said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight, and that no Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right."

# 17 Raphi ! those fifth columnist traytors who march in the open with flags,are no danger,the danger is with fifth columnists who don't march.

...I feel, that he is one of the better contributors to the JP. I respectfully disagree with him on this matter though, we have been far, far to liberal and kind to those within this nation who not just wish for our destruction, but often spill the blood of our citizens. There is a difference between expsressing views against the government and outright treason.

Yair: you are so handsome: stay away from real-world matters, it's too much for your pretty blonde head! Really, you're embarrasing us all. Stick to your schtick!

Yair, the bill is not a reflection of weakness or cowardiness, or recognition! It's directed to those who, living in our land thanks to our generosity; and living in freedom, thanks to our principles still have the nerve and audacity to spit on our faces, asking for our destruction in our on land. If they still want to live among us, they better respect us or leave as some of their relatives did in 1948 and 1967. Would you want someone within your backyard yell at you and your children to get out of your house? Get real, Yair! The bill is not about preventing or limiting freedom of speech in our home, it is directed to those who live in our home, eating from our hand and still want our destruction. And, do not be naive about American free speech, either. You perfectly know that they also have limits, whatever they call now Homeland Security, Come down from your liberal cloud, Yair and ground yourself up.

Would it be permissible for an Israeli Arab to have "Kill the Jews"signs on his home and car? In your opinion is there anything that a person can say, but not do, that is not permitted?

Why should an Arab think he's being "occupied" in Judea but not in the Galil? This simple fact scares the left like none other.

The Israeli Left's sudden concern for democracy and free speech would be more convincing if it hadn't banned the Kahanists as terrorists and silenced their freedom of advocacy in Israel. The Israeli First Amendment means Leftists and Arabs who hate Israel have free speech rights and can demonstrate against Israel's existence. Jews on the other hand cannot advocate transfer and a real Jewish State without facing a prison sentence from the leftist Israeli judiciary. The Israeli Left's new found interest in freedom of speech and the right to express one's view is full of chutzpah: you have the right to express yourself as long as you agree with them Once you don't they bring in the police and courts to gag their opponents. All the Nakba law would simply do is extend that to them and their Arab friends and they scream bloody murder. Israeli democracy needs friends like them like it needs enemies.

It's time for the Israeli Arabs to decide which side they are on. Those who are for Israel are welcome. Those who are not for Israel are persona non-grata in the state and should be treated as such. No citizen has a right to do subversive activities against their country of residence - no sovereign state would allow this - there is a big difference between freedom of speech and subversive and terrorist activities. I don't think anyone has a problem with freedom of speech - you can criticize the state but you must still support it.

What exactly do you think is an act of strength? Does the nakba bill show weakness? In order to defend ourselves, we do not need to blind our populace to hate--we know hate very well already. What we do need is to stand up for ourselves against any groups that mourn our existence in our own homeland. The REAL threat is that we play right into their hands and the REAL show of weakness is this article.

Lapid seems literate, but was recently convicted of slander and defamation. Strange that YNet lets a person with a criminal record write.

Lapid's real victims are Israel Arabs who are conditioned by the Nakba education to hate Israel. More and more they participate in terrorism and identify with Fatah and Hamas. Lapid's biggest supporters are the Kahanists who, thank to the Nakba education, will eventually get their wish.

Why elevate somebody from mere idiot to the status of anti-zionist coward? Come on, Lapid, this is the same Knesset that passed a law allowing meat packers to add water to frozen meat so they could screw us over and pocket the money. This bill is rocket science compared to the standard corruption we're forced to swallow from these jackasses. Well, ok, granted this kind of rocket would probably blow up on the launching pad....

us may get lost. Forbidding the Nakba is our way of telling them to get lost: if they insisnt on resisting the existence of the state of Israel - the door is open: get out of Israel! There should be no compromise on that issue. They are multiplying like rabbits, threatening to outnumber us. The small jewish state can not afford the generosity of the USA toward its domestic enemies.

The basic difference between Gregory Lee Johnson and the arabs in Israel is that Johnson was not calling for a destruction of the US. He wanted change and was destroying a symbol as a form of protest. To protest on the fourth of July adn call for an enemy invasion of the US would get you arrested (If not lynched). Israel is also the only country in the world that tolerates politicians who call for their own country's destruction. Also, meeting with governments that are actively involved in attacking your country is labelled a traitorous act in every other country in the world. If you are going to use the US as a precedent or a model, it would mean absolutely no peace process, especially not one involving giving up land. It would also mean an approach to warfare that would have totally destoyed any agressor. And please look at America's Homeland Security practices. Even today, years after a single day of terror attacks, civl liberties are far from what they used to be.

Only because you keep to ignore the fact that the people who do not recognize the state of israel and want it exterminated are israeli citizens themselves (arabs who hold israeli citizenship), there is great difference between being a citizen and getting all the right from the country yet at the same time protest in favor of exterminating the country or showing grief just because it exit in compare to surrounding enemies who are not citizens, they can do whatever they want. The israeli arabas want to protest ? no problem - they can return their citizenship, that would be their greatest protest, how can they be citizens of a society they wish to exterminate ,they are being hypocrites and therefore we all know what they wish to do and that will be prevented, you are too innocent my friend.

Over the fact there are arabs in israel, That is very sad and i am looking for the right date to grief for the fact we have 1 million arabs who hold israeli citizenship. we will wear black shirts and call it: yom medina azuva (sad country day) do you think they will let me protest together with 50k people?

Lapid never fails to reconfirm what is wrong with his brand of hmm Zionism. He is so in love with his own intellectual abilities, that he will find a sly way to encourage his own demise. All his arguments are a mute point, because he has no clarity nor sense what is really going here. Being the elitist herzelist Hellenist he is , he represents only himself and his co ego trippers, who have lost touch with the rest of the nation a long time ago. Of course he will never put his words into action and move to one of those Arab towns, to prove how peaceful these people really. That he himself is a anti Zionist coward will never cross his mind, because that is the mind of Esau, never accepting reality nor the truth, but finding clever arguments to deceive and to distract.

the people trying to fight for their homes, did you say anything? When they illegally destroyed Noam Federman's home, did you say anything? When they illegally evacuated Shalom house, did you say anything? We could go on giving examples of your hypocracy, but why go on? So, democracy is only for the left? Lech le...

I agree with the basis of your argument - but it doesnt apply here. There's too many "haters" within the community. Its not just a handful of dissidents. You have a growing number of not only loud 'haters' - they are working hand-in-hand with the Israel's external enemies to bring the country down within. Using the democratic system to eventually undermine and topple the Israeli - Jewish state. They are well on the way to out number Jews soon. I'm amazed that you cant see that. Even if you dont agree with them - it should made note in law that its an offence - even if the courts do not convict or give light penalties. It should be enforced and the those involved registered officially as traitors.

... only if the Arabs (and jews too, as Naturei Karta) haters give up their israeli citizenship... They could travel with a laissez-passer and vote only in local ele4ctions, not for the knesset. Then they could hate freely as much as they want. However it is illogic to allow to hate and comemorate the Naqba using the walfare state and its democratic institurions..

I grew up in the Vietnam era and saw a lot of flag burning. The media was more then happy to show these disloyal un-American Americans desecrating their flag anyway they could. The worse time was when a man came out on a football field during halftime and burned an American flag in front of 50,000 fans. Not one tried to stop him. This experience shook me to the bottom of my soul. This person was vandalizing a symbol that stood for me, my land, my country. When Gregory Lee Johnson burned the flag in protest of President Reagan’s policies, he was not hurting President Reagan, he was hurting me. He was showing disrespect to all the people that had died for his right to free speech. He was spitting on all the graves of soldiers that has spilled their blood for him. He was insulting all the loyal Americans at home who had suffered through wars, doing without so that our soldiers had what they needed. He was forgetting that the flag stood for ‘we the people’, not who was ever in charge at the moment. Yair Lapid is correct when he says Israel does not need the approval of their enemies. No country does. But that does not mean that a loyal citizen has to stand helplessly by when an enemy shows contempt for what I hold dear. The flag of any county is a symbol for all of us. He represents our hopes and dreams. It represents my Mother, my Father, my sisters, brothers and my neighbors. I will not allow them to be shown contempt, nor will I allow the flag that represents them be shown contempt. For this reason, I made a promise to myself that I would never allow my flag to be desecrated in my presence. I do not care what the Supreme Court says, nor any law that allows it. Enemies of American use hard won rights to show contempt, I will also use these same hard won rights to say, ‘Enough is enough’.

So many comments attacking Lapid the man show the fallacy of each argument. Zionism is our national liberation movement and is not based on the exclusion of any civil right for any citizen - Jew or Arab. It is in fact us owning our destiny in through land and liberation completely self determining our identity without requiring recognition from friend or foe - just actuating our existence in word, deed, action and right of self defense. I agree with Mr. Lapid and find shameful those that attack his premise or ideological argument by attacking him personally.

Cut the bravado. Israel needs to have constant education to counter the Arab lies. This education must deluge Israel and ALL the territories, including Gaza.

Anti Zionism is Antisemitism. Israel is not the United States where you have a constitution dealing with freedom of speech and assembly. In Israel to be a Holocaust denier is against the law, in the United States it is not. Nabka is a holiday proclaiming their hatred of Israel and Jews not their loyalty. It was the Mufti of Jerusalem along with the British that prevented millions of Jews to come to Israel and we should not forget that. When I see Jewish Settlers allowed the same right of freedom of expression then come to me and talk about allowing the Palestinians to have their Nabka Day http://ralphsrant1.blogspot.com

You base your whole pathetic article on one idiotic decision of the US supreme court? Does yair even know on what basis they acquitted him? "Freedom of speech," from the 1st amendment. There is no "freedom of expression," and the Supreme court ruling was a joke and has been ridiculed since.

No one needs a knife in the back through indifference. Those who refuse to pledge, or act loyally, are not entitled to the benefits & privileges of a loyal citizenry. If you choose to remain on the out, then out you are.

There are important pillars of the rule of law that every respecting country follows. For more please read a short article: http://israelactnow.blogspot.com/2009/04/freedom-of-speech-vs-incitement-arab.html

when you can wait .. when you can tolerate ... you have the hope .. here you can not tolerate you can not wait .. i think you starte to loose your hope . but i think not all the israili jews (it is like the rythm of israili arab ) have lost their hope .. they know that they can live with arabs

just because some thinks they are being persecuted doesn't mean that they are paranoid Israelis do not lack confidence or self esteem. We are actually under threat of destruction. Leaders of foreign counties are actually threatening to destroy our county. Almost all of the other countries in the Mid. East do not recognize us. Athletes from these countries refuse to compete against ours etc. etc. etc.