Israel’s Parliament on Thursday approved a controversial piece of legislation that defines the country as the nation-state of the Jewish people but, critics warn, sidelines minorities.
The government says the bill, passed in the early morning hours, will merely enshrine into law Israel’s existing character.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the legislation’s passage a “historic moment in the history of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel.”
He said:
“Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people, which honours the individual rights of all its citizens. I repeat this is our state. The Jewish state.
“Lately, there are people who are trying to destabilise this and, therefore, destabilise the foundations of our existence and our rights. So today, we have made a law in stone. This is our country. This is our language. This is our anthem and this is our flag. Long live the state of Israel.”
But opponents to the law say it marginalises the country’s Arab minority. One clause downgrades the Arabic language from official to “special” standing. Around 20% of Israel’s population is Arab.
The law was passed with a 62-55 backing, with two members of Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, abstaining. The legislation is defined as a “basic law,” granting it quasi-constitutional status.
Politicians took turns to passionately express their views for and against the bill in a rowdy, hours-long debate in Parliament overnight.
‘A law of Jewish supremacy ’
Ayman Odeh, head of the Arab Joint List, pulled out a black flag and waved it during his speech in Parliament, warning of the implications of the law.
In a statement after the passage of the law, he said, “This is an evil law, a black flag hovers over it. Today, I will have to tell my children, along with all the children of Palestinian Arab towns in the country, that the state has declared that it does not want us here. It has passed a law of Jewish supremacy and told us that we will always be second-class citizens.”
Benny Begin, son of former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, the founder of Mr. Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party, abstained from voting, warning of the party’s growing disconnect from human rights. “This is not a decision I expected from the Likud leadership,” he said.
American Jewish organisations also expressed disapproval of the law.
The American Jewish Committee, a group representing the Jewish Diaspora, said it was “deeply disappointed,” saying the law “put at risk the commitment of Israel’s founders to build a country that is both Jewish and democratic.”
Lawmakers had removed the most contentious clause of the bill on Sunday, which would have allowed the establishment of “separate communities,” and whose inclusion critics had called racist.
Israelis, including President Reuven Rivlin and Attorney General, voiced opposition to the earlier draft of the bill.
