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Israel moves to ban the use of Nazi symbols

JERUSALEM, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Israel's Ministerial Law Committee has approved a law that would ban the use of Nazi symbols in Israel, officials said.

The law, which was passed by the committee Sunday, was proposed by Member of Parliament Shimon Ohayon in response to an increased neo-Nazi presence in Israel, the Israeli broadcaster Arutz Sheva reported.

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"It is very important that Israel join the many countries in Europe that prohibit all use of Nazi symbols. These are a danger to Jews wherever they are, and as long as these symbols are not illegal in Israel we cannot go to the nations with complaints about how they allow their use," Ohayon said after the law was approved.

Neo-Nazi groups have been seen in Jerusalem, Petach Tikvah, and Ariel, and are made up of exclusively of young immigrants -- mostly from former Soviet Union countries and Eastern Europe. They have been blamed for arson attacks against synagogues, as well as anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi graffiti and attacks on Israelis.

The law passed by the committee will ban the use of Nazi symbols, as well as calling someone a Nazi.

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