The Knesset passed legislation sponsored by all five Hadash MKs on Monday, May 28, that rescinds the 1933 Press Ordinance instituted by the Mandatory Government in the territory of Palestine then occupied by British imperialism. The undemocratic ordinance required that anyone desiring to publish a newspaper must obtain a license to do so from the Interior Ministry.

Hadash MK Dov Khenin (Joint List), who had previously proposed rescinding the Press Ordinance several times during the past 10 years, said the British ordinance violated the principles of a free press. “The message coming out of the Knesset today is that we aim to be a country with free press and free media,” Khenin stated. “This is an historic day.”