The Scotsman

Israeli parliament approves contentiou­s Jewish nation bill

● Netanyahu calls passage ‘historic moment in the history of Zionism’

- By ILAN BEN ZION in Jerusalem

Israel’s parliament passed a controvers­ial piece of legislatio­n yesterday that defines the country as the nation-state of the Jewish people but which critics warn sidelines minorities.

The government said 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 for 70 years.

Opponents of the new bill say it marginalis­es the country’s Arab minority of around 20 per cent 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 quasi-constituti­onal status, is likely to 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 second-class 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.

Eugene Kontorovic­h, internatio­nal law director at the Kohelet Policy Forum, a conservati­ve Jerusalem think tank, defended the bill, arguing it “is similar to provisions in many western democratic constituti­ons, which provide for an official language and national character that reflects the majority of the population”.

Kontorovic­h dismissed the “faux outrage” against the bill as “simply another attempt to single-out the Jewish state and hold her to a double standard”.

American Jewish organisati­ons also expressed their disapprova­l of the law.

The American Jewish Committee, a group representi­ng the Jewish Diaspora, said it was “deeply disappoint­ed”, adding that the law “puts at risk the commitment of Israel’s founders to build a country that is both Jewish and democratic”.

Jeremy Ben Ami, president of J Street, a Washington liberal pro-israel group, said the bill’s purpose is “to send a message to the Arab community, the LGBT community and other minorities in Israel, that they are not and never will be equal citizens”.

“Strong connection between Israel and Jews worldwide is based on these values that Israel is both a Jewish and democratic state,” Ben Ami said, adding concerns the bill would “weaken the strength of Israel’s democracy.”

 ?? PICTURE: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/AP ?? 0 Knesset members pose for a selfie with Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, centre, after the contentiou­s legislatio­n was passed
PICTURE: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/AP 0 Knesset members pose for a selfie with Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, centre, after the contentiou­s legislatio­n was passed
 ??  ?? 0 Benjamin Netanyahu looked relaxed ahead of the vote
0 Benjamin Netanyahu looked relaxed ahead of the vote

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