Parliament passes bill to make Israel Jewish state

Critics warn ‘ Jewish nation- state’ will sideline minorities in Israel

Israel’s Parliament approved a controversial piece of legislation on Thursday that defines the country as the nationstate of the Jewish people but which 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 its passage a “historic moment in the history of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel.”

“Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people, which honours the individual rights of all its citizens,” he said. “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,” he added. “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.”

Israel’s 1948 declaration of independence defined its nature as a Jewish and democratic state, a delicate balance the country has grappled to maintain

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

— Benjamin Netanyahu,

Israeli PM

for 70 years.

Opponents of the new bill say it marginalises the country’s Arab minority of around 20 percent and also downgrades Arabic language from official to “special” standing.

The law passed with a 62- 55 backing, with two members of the Knesset abstaining. The legislation, defined as a “basic law,” granting it quasiconstitutional status, will likely face a challenge at the Supreme Court.

Lawmakers took turns to passionately express their views in a rowdy, hours- long debate in parliament overnight.

Ayman Odeh, the head of the Arab Joint List, pulled out a black flag and waved it during his speech, warning of the implications of the law.

“This is an evil law,” he told lawmakers, adding that “a black flag hovers over it.”

“Today, I will have to tell my children, along with all the children of Palestinian Arab towns ... that the state has declared that it does not want us here,” Odeh said in a statement later. “It has passed a law of Jewish supremacy and told us that we will always be secondclass citizens.”

Benny Begin, son of former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, the founder of 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.