Knesset Passes “Shai Daromi Law”

Tuesday, June 24 — The Knesset passed the “Shai Daromi Law” on its second and third readings, completing the legislative process. The law is now on the books.

Our last issue of Liberty Monitor reported that the law had been passed in the Knesset Constitution and Law Committee and was ready for final vote.

The law determines that deadly force may be used against intruders into a person’s home or property without rendering the homeowner liable to prosecution.

The law was passed in response to the Shai Daromi case. Daromi, a Jewish rancher in the Negev, shot at two Bedouin breaking into his ranch to steal livestock, killing one and wounding the other. Like other Jewish farmers in the area, Daromi suffered repeated break-ins and thefts from burglars who frequently bore arms. The State Prosecution indicted Daromi for manslaughter. With the passage of the “Shai Daromi Law” the case against Daromi is expected to be dismissed.

The Daromi affair has nationalist overtones, due to widespread perceptions that Beduin in the Negev, in addition to engaging in widespread illegal seizures of public land, are victimizing Jewish farmers. The indictment of Daromi was widely perceived as signaling that Jewish farmers could expect the State Prosecution to be hostile to their attempts to defend themselves and their property. The Daromi law is aimed as much at the policy of the State Prosecution as at intruders and housebreakers..