JERUSALEM (JTA) — Arab and right-wing Israeli lawmakers debated a bill that would revoke government funding for institutions that mark the Nakba.
The measure, sponsored by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party, is a variation of the proposed Nakba law that would have made illegal the observance of Israel Independence Day as a day of mourning.
The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee discussed the bill Monday.
Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi compared the law to George Orwell’s Big Brother in the book "1984." Yisrael Beiteinu lawmaker David Rotem accused the Arab lawmakers of not being "loyal" to the State of Israel.
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