'Premature appeal.' Weinstein
Photo: Noam Moskowitz
AG: Probe of Left violation of basic rights
Weinstein tells High Court appeal filed against parliamentary inquiry commission into funding, activity of Israeli human rights groups premature, but voices concern panel may violate freedom of expression, thought
Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein called on the High Court of Justice on Sunday to reject an appeal against the establishment of a parliamentary inquiry commission into the funding and activity of left-wing organizations in Israel.
He said the appeal was premature because a final decision on the establishment of the inquiry commission has yet to be reached.
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"The commission has not been set up and may not be set up at all," the State Prosecutor's Office told the court on Weinstein's behalf.
However, the Prosecutor's Office leveled harsh criticism at the entire process, saying the proposed committee would apparently "lack the authority to summon witnesses or obligate them to disclose information or documentation."
The Prosecutor's Office also expressed concern that the committee, if established, may violate basic rights such as freedom of expression, freedom of thought and the freedom to assemble.
"For the first time in the Knesset's history, committees are dealing with purely ideological issues by asking to investigate the other side of the political spectrum, which is affiliated with the opposition. Civil society organizations have a right to act with significant freedom and with minimal intervention by the authorities," according to the Prosecutor's Office.
Earlier this month the Knesset's legal adviser, Eyal Yinon, wrote in a white paper that the two proposed panels set a dangerous precedent in that they would probe "organizations that are identified with only one side of the political spectrum, which is currently in the opposition."
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