Nakba Law

"Fundamentals of Finance – Amendment No. 40", sometimes referred to as the Nakba Law, is a 2011 Israeli law which received criticism for limiting freedom of speech pertaining to the founding of Israel and the Nakba. The law affects organizations which are funded, in whole or in part, by the government.

The law authorizes the Minister of Finance to withhold a limited amount of state funds from any government-funded institution or body that commemorates "Israel's Independence Day or the day on which the state was established as a day of mourning", or that denies the existence of Israel as a "Jewish and democratic state."

The amount of state funds withheld is related to the amount of money spent on the event, capped at three times the amount of money spent.

Background
The law was first proposed in 2008 by Alex Miller, and preliminarily approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation on May 24, 2009. The proposal was rejected and sent to the Committee for Constitution, Law, and Justice for revision.

Thirty-seven members of the Knesset voted in favor of the law, and twenty-five voted against. Sixty out of 120 MKs did not show up for the vote, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Provisions
The law affects organizations which are funded, in whole or in part, by the Israeli government.

It declares that the Minister of Finance is authorized to withhold transfer of state funds, if the primary goal of the funds spent was to do one of the following:


 * 1) Denying the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and Democratic State
 * 2) Incitement of racism, violence, or terrorism
 * 3) Supporting armed conflict or acts of terror, of an enemy state or a terror organization, against the State of Israel
 * 4) Referring to the Israeli Independence Day or the founding day of the country as a day of mourning
 * 5) An act of vandalism or physical debasement of the flag or symbols of the state

Effects
In 2019, Tel Aviv University cancelled a lecture by the politician Ofer Cassif, citing the law as the reason. This was the first instance of an academic institution heeding this law.