Israeli bill to outlaw the word Nazi sparks ire

An Israeli draft law that would criminalise the use of the word Nazi in most cases has sparked a debate on freedom of speech in a state that was founded out of the ashes of the Holocaust.
Seven decades later, memories of the extermination of millions of Jews during World War II permeate virtually every aspect of life in Israel.
Public figures and interest groups frequently invoke the World War II genocide to score political points, and the word and Nazi symbols have slipped into Israeli discourse over the years.
The bill would impose a fine of 100,000 shekels (nearly USD 29,000) and six months in jail for anybody using the word or symbols from Adolf Hitler's Third Reich in a "wrong or inappropriate way." Educational settings or artistic performances would be exempt.

The Knesset gave preliminary approval to the measure on Wednesday, but it still must pass three more readings and committee discussions before becoming law. A similar effort in 2012 fell in committee amid opposition.
Its sponsor, Shimon Ohayon from the hard-line Yisrael Beitenu party, said the law would put Israel on par with other nations "battling anti-Semitism."

He acknowledged enforcement would largely rely on violations being reported to police.
"We want to prevent disrespect of the Holocaust," said Ohayon, the bill's sponsor. "We allow too many freedoms which are taking over in a way that is harming us."
Opponents say the measure endangers freedom of speech in a country that takes pride in being a democracy in a volatile region dominated by monarchies and authoritarian leaders.

"Week after week you want to shut mouths and harm freedom of expression," said Zehava Galon, leader of the opposition Meretz party.
Six million Jews were murdered in the systematic Nazi effort to kill all the Jews of Europe. Created in 1948 in the shadow of the war, Israel provided a haven for hundreds of thousands of refugees freshly liberated from Nazi death camps.
Today, it is home to about 200,000 aging survivors.
Preserving the memory of the Holocaust has become a central tenet of Israeli identity. Students learn about the event from a young age and thousands of high school pupils make an annual pilgrimage to Auschwitz and other Nazi death camps in Europe to forge a personal link to the murder of millions of Jews.

The country comes to a standstill on Israel's annual Holocaust remembrance day, when Israelis reflect for a moment as a siren sounds nationwide.
Visiting foreign leaders are routinely brought to Israel's Holocaust memorial to directly confront the dimensions of the nightmare, and the nation's military leaders hang posters of a famous flyover by the Israeli air force over Auschwitz in 2003.