Activists of foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party have purchased copies of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to distribute free of charge to the Israeli public.
The move came after Israel’s largest book chain, Steimatzky, shelved plans to sell the magazine following complaints from Israeli Arabs.
Urging activists to buy copies of the magazine, which was printed after the attacks in Paris earlier this month, Mr Lieberman said the issue was one of free speech.
"Israel cannot become an Isis [Islamic State] state – we will not allow radical Islam to intimidate us, and turn Israel into a state that capitulates to threats and compromises the freedom of expression."
Complaints
Steimatzky imported 700 copies of the magazine, which features a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad, and had planned to sell them at the company’s flagship store in Ramat Gan, close to Tel Aviv. However, following complaints from Israeli Arabs, the company decided to sell the magazine only online.
Thousands of Palestinians marched in the West Bank cities of Hebron and Ramallah denouncing the magazine. A brick was thrown through the window of the Steimatzky store in Upper Nazareth.
The Israeli Arab higher monitoring committee released a statement calling the decision to sell the magazine a provocation that offended the sensitivities of Muslims and their faith, not only in Israel but throughout the Islamic world.
Knesset member Masud Ganaim, who represents the Islamic movement in the Arab Ra'am-Ta'al party, warned, in a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, of serious consequences if the magazine was sold.
“This is a very serious, dangerous and stupid step,” he wrote. “This is not freedom of expression but a blow to the holy of holies of Muslims that will bring about anger among Muslims and other Arabs in the country. When Islam is attacked, it’s freedom of expression; when Jews are attacked, it’s anti-Semitism.”
Mr Lieberman denounced the letter as “another red line crossed by the Arab leadership in Israel”.
Steimatzky denied it had given in to threats and claimed the decision to allow only online sales of the magazine followed complaints from potential customers who lived far from the Ramat Gan store.
