Israel formally bans the Nazis

JERUSALEM, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Israel tied up a loose end his week by passing a law banning Nazism from the Jewish state.

While Israel might seem an unlikely place for neo-Nazism to take root, Israel News says there have actually been recent instances of gatherings in Israel.

"Israel never outlawed Nazi rallies because no one in their darkest,

wildest dreams imagined that this would be a necessary course of

action," said Moshe Gafni, the bill's sponsor. "Lately, however, we have seen a surge in such neo-Nazi gatherings, and so this legislation became necessary."

The bill was passed after it was amended to ban all rallies based on racism.