Israeli bill seeks to ban photographing soldiers

JERUSALEM (AP) - An Israeli ministerial committee has proposed legislation that seeks to outlaw photographing Israeli soldiers "for the sake of shaming them," something rights groups say would amount to government censorship.

The committee, headed by Israel's justice minister, passed the proposal on Sunday. It is expected to face stiff legal challenges.

The bill's sponsor, Robert Ilatov of the ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, insisted in a radio interview Monday that the bill "does not impinge on free speech." He said it only prevents obstruction of soldiers in the line of duty.

But Talia Sasson, president of the New Israel Fund, a liberal advocacy group that supports groups that document rights abuses in the West Bank, called the bill "an arrow shot into the heart of the state of Israel."