As in many other countries attempts have been made by Muslims in Israel to suppress the screening of the world-wide-hell-raising movie “The Innocence of Muslims“. The Israeli Arab Democratic Party along with a few Arab Israeli leaders and MPs have moved to the District Court in Jerusalem (CC 38748-09-12, The Arab Democratic Party et al. v. Google Israel et al.) to prohibit Google Israel and global Google from screening the movie on YouTube, and alternately to block the view of the movie in Israel.

The Movants claimed that the movie violated several sections in the Israeli Criminal Law, including, inter alia, Infliction of Harm to Religious Feelings and Incitement to Racism, as well as defamation. Addressing the Israeli standard of scrutiny with respect to the balance between freedom of speech and defamation, Movants claimed that the magnitude of insult to their religious feelings mandates restrictions on the freedom of speech in this case, as do public order considerations.

Doubtless, this is an extremely sensitive issue; true explosive material, and any court in the free world, let alone in Israel, would love to avoid the issue all together. Well, in this case, the court did dodge the bullet, with the petitioners’ help, no less, as they omitted YouTube from the motion. The court ruled that the motion was lacking the appropriate defendant and thus dismissed it.

How will an Israeli court rule if the correct party is adjoined? How will any court in the world? And what will be the consequences of such ruling? For now we have no answer, but I believe we SHALL one day find out…

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