‘Women will die’ – Opposition’s frenzied attack on Ben-Gvir after electronic tracking bill defeated

Lapid, who is fighting to bring down the government, never considered the issue a priority when he was prime minister.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

A vote proposing to force men accused of domestic violence to wear electronic tracking monitors was rejected by the Knesset by one vote on Wednesday, sparking pandemonium in the plenum.

The bill was pushed by members of the opposition, and while Public Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that he supported the measure in spirit, he urged the coalition to vote against it due to flaws in the legislation’s wording.

Ben-Gvir, as well as legal experts and civil liberties activists, have said that the bill in its current form is too broad, because it restricts the freedom of men who are accused of a crime and have not yet been convicted.

The Public Security Minister expressed concerns about men being automatically subjected to electronic tracking, regardless of the validity of the complaint made against them.

Men subject to electronic tracking must first be convicted of a crime or deemed extremely dangerous by a judge after a pretrial risk assessment, Ben-Gvir has said.

“When it comes to human scum who harm women, we must do everything to prevent the possibility of them hurting a woman, including electronic [tracking] and even more difficult measures,” Ben-Gvir said in a statement.

“At the same time, it is important to prevent the possibility of false complaints, which results in harm to innocent men and also to women and their credibility.”

Despite Ben-Gvir pledging to advance a modified version of the law by the end of April, opposition lawmakers accused him of facilitating violence against women.

When the bill was defeated 54-53, female lawmakers from the opposition screamed “Shame!” and accused him of endangering women.

Ben-Gvir responded that the drama in the plenum was a “cynical” attempt to score political points.

Notably, former Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar had originally proposed the legislation during the previous government’s tenure. The measure was not considered a high priority bill and was shelved after one reading.

“Women will die because of this government,” Opposition Leader Yair Lapid wrote on his Twitter account on Wednesday afternoon.

“Minister Ben-Gvir acquits the violent men and abandons the women threatened with murder. The legislative procedure that was supposed to be short and orderly turned into a disgusting joke.”

Lapid is a vocal critic of the right-wing government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has accused the coalition of failing women by not signing the Istanbul Convention, an international treaty aimed at protecting women from gender-based and domestic violence.

During his tenure as prime minister, Lapid did not sign the Istanbul Convention, nor did he speak about the issue as being on his government’s agenda.

Lapid’s predecessor, Naftali Bennett, also declined to sign the document. Bennett cited concerns about immigration loopholes that could be exploited by migrant women should Israel become a party to the convention.