The World - News from Aug. 7, 1986

Israel’s Parliament passed a watered-down anti-racism bill and outlawed private contacts with the Palestine Liberation Organization in a trade-off between rival factions of the national unity coalition. The anti-racism bill, however, was so weakened that even militant Rabbi Meir Kahane--whose anti-Arab activities were originally targeted by the bill--voted for it, raising both hands. The bill makes it illegal to incite racism, defined as the persecution or degradation of a group “on account of its color, racial affiliation or national-ethnic origin.” The measure was passed only after the Labor Party agreed to back the PLO bill sponsored by the right-wing Likud Bloc.