ISRAEL BANS TV PORNOGRAPHY

TEL AVIV, July 11, 2002 (LSN.ca) – The Israeli parliament has voted to ban cable and satellite broadcasters from showing pornography. In a striking display of unity across cultural and religious lines, Muslim and Christian Arab members voted alongside conservative and religious Jewish members to get the bill through.  The measure adds cable and satellite pay-per-view channels to the law after ordinary channels were prohibited from transmitting pornography last year. The new law will, however, allow pornographic material to be shown “if it has a cultural, scientific or journalistic value, although it does not stipulate who would decide,” the BBC points out.  Opponents argued that adults could be given digital cards to allow them to access anything they want—ignoring the argument that some things are harmful for adults to watch and degrade the wider culture by their mere existence.  Supporters of the bill said pornography is “based on the exploitation of women and children” and “encourages a slave trade in women.” National Religious Party member Zevulun Orlev, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure was not “religious” in motive or intended effect, “but cultural and social”.  For BBC News coverage see: https://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_2121000/2121341.stm