Israel Matzav

Jerusalem negotiations bill fails as Feiglin only coalition MK to vote in favor

A bill that would bar negotiations over Jerusalem without the approval of at least 80 of the 120 MK's failed in a preliminary reading in the Knesset on Wednesday after passing the Ministerial Legislation Committee earlier this week. The only coalition MK to vote in favor was Moshe Feiglin (Likud). Most of the other members of the coalition from the land of Israel's protectors - the Jewish Home and Likud parties - absented themselves from the vote.

12 MKs supported the bill; 51 MKs opposed. One abstained and another two Knesset members declined to participate in the voting process.

According to Maariv, both Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Finance Minister Yair Lapid were among the votes against the proposal.

The only coalition member to vote for the proposed bill was MK Moshe Feiglin (Likud-Beytenu). Both Jewish Home and the rest of the Likud-Beytenu MKs were absent from the Knesset session. 

Two months ago, the Committee for Legislative Affairs approved the bill, which was originally proposed by MK Yaakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism). The bill, if passed, would have blocked foreign nations from introducing the division of the Holy City as a factor in negotiations without approval from at least 80 Knesset members. Negotiations without that approval would have been declared not legally binding for the state or for the Jerusalem municipality. 

The explanatory section of the bill explains that "Jerusalem is a united city, and it shall not be distributed or divided by anyone. The sanctity of Jerusalem was not given to foreign parties." 

Litzman insisted that both the Prime Minister and the Jewish Home parties had expressed support for the bill. It remains unclear why they were not present at the Knesset vote.

Unclear? It's very clear why they weren't present: they don't have the courage of their convictions. They're just slimy politicians. 

Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Jerusalem, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, Moshe Feiglin, Tzipi Livni, Yaakov Litzman

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:07 PM