חוק גנים לאומיים, שמורות טבע, אתרים לאומיים ואתרי הנצחה (תיקון מס' 15), התשע"ח-2018Law on National Parks, Nature Reserves, National Sites and Memorial Sites (Amendment No. 15), 2018 · automatic translation · suggest a correction

Official summary of the law (Knesset)

The National Parks, Nature Reserves, National Sites and Commemoration Sites Law (Amendment No. 15), 2017 was passed in second and third reading on 1 January 2018. Under the amendment to the Law, several amendments were made to the sections of the Law governing commemoration sites. The Law transfers the authority to appoint the Commemoration Council from the Government to the Minister of Defense, and provides that the Commemoration Council may itself initiate a declaration to establish a commemoration site and propose it to the Minister of Defense. The Law also provides that responsibility for maintaining state and military commemoration sites rests with the state, through the Ministry of Defense. It further provides that the Ministry of Defense may grant permits to local authorities and non-profit corporations for the maintenance of the sites. The Law provides that the purposes of the bodies receiving such permits must be directly related to Israel's military campaigns, to the fallen, or to the corps or formations commemorated at the site. An additional condition set for these bodies is that the corporation or an office holder in it has not been convicted of, and is not subject to pending criminal proceedings for, an offense whose severity or circumstances make it inappropriate for them to maintain the commemoration site. Since the sites are currently maintained in part by local authorities and in part by associations, this Law anchors the existing situation in legislation and regulates the entire matter of granting permits to operate the sites. The Law further provides that the Ministry of Defense shall transfer an annual budget to the operators of the sites mentioned above. Finally, the Law provides that, as a rule, no entrance fee shall be charged for commemoration sites, but the Minister of Defense may establish provisions regarding the collection of payment for additional activities at the sites.

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What was said in the plenum

The bill amends the law regulating the operation of memorial sites in Israel: it adds a definition of a local memorial site, changes the methods of appointing the Memorial Council, and regulates the granting of permits to corporations (including non-profit organizations and non-profit bodies) and local authorities to maintain memorial sites, as well as the issue of budgeting and fee collection at the sites. The discussion in the first reading revolved around concerns about privatizing the field of commemoration and granting the minister authority to decide which bodies may carry out commemoration, while in the second and third readings the amended wording following committee discussions was presented, including a clarification of eligibility conditions for corporations and a prohibition on charging entrance fees.

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An automatic summary of the plenum transcripts: the debate on the bill at every reading it was voted on. Arguments are given as the speakers made them; this is not an assessment. The list of speakers comes from the transcript, without a model. Transcripts of the sittings: 1, 2

Reservations to the second reading

No reservations were filed to this bill.

Asked to speak: Michal Rozin (Meretz), Ilan Gilon (Meretz), Esawi Frej (Meretz), Tamar Zandberg (Meretz), Mossi Raz (Meretz)

Committee version for the second and third reading (PDF)