Does Nazi symbol ban violate free speech?

JERUSALEM, May 29 (UPI) -- Bills now before the Israeli parliament that would outlaw the use of Nazi symbols and slogans violate freedom of speech, a legal adviser said Tuesday.

The legislation was introduced in the parliament or Knesset in response to demonstrations by ultra-Orthodox Jews, Ynetnews reported online. The ultra-Orthodox were protesting efforts to prevent the separation of women and men on public transportation and in other public places.

The four bills, which have received preliminary approval, would ban swastikas and Nazi slogans, the wearing of striped uniforms like those in World War II concentration camps and of yellow Stars of David like those Jews were required to wear in Nazi-run countries. Violators could face fines of up to $26,000 and six months in jail.

"Despite the bills' important goals, they severely violate political free speech, which is at the heart of freedom of expression," the legal adviser to the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee said. "The courts have repeatedly ruled that free speech under Israeli law extends to every expression, regardless of its influence."

Protesters used Nazi symbols to say that they feel they are being treated as Jews were by the Nazis.