The majority of a committee appointed by the Ministry of Justice has recommended a change in the law that would permit the private possession or viewing of pornographic material by adults without constituting an offense. The committee agreed however that the public display of obscene pictures or literature should continue to be banned.
The committee, headed by Supreme Court Justice Alfred Witkon, was named two years ago following a debate in the Knesset on the problem of pornography. It is composed of attorneys, physicians, psychologists and criminologists. But its recommendations were given little chance of being implemented because of opposition from Orthodox elements. Committee members representing the Orthodox point of view dissented from the report.
The situation is expected to remain much the same as it always has with anti-pornography laws on the books but rarely if ever enforced when private possession is involved. The committee recommended that works with literary, artistic, scientific or other social value should not be banned but should be turned over to the Education Ministry’s public advisory committee to determine if they are obscene. While the Orthodox members flatly opposed any change in the law, some non-Orthodox members said its definitions were too vague and in the last resort, the courts would have to determine what constituted obscenity. At present public theater and film presentations are subjected to censorship by a government public board.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
