ISRAELI ARAB MP QUITS OVER 'NATION STATE' LAW
TEL AVIV - An Israeli Arab politician has resigned in opposition to a controversial new law which declares Israel to be the nation state of the Jewish people.
Zouheir Bahloul, 67, branded parliament “racist” and “destructive” for passing the law, which also puts Hebrew above $rabic as the official language.
“(The law) removes the Arab population from the path of equality in Israel,” he told Israeli TV network Reshet.
The bill passed on July 19, provoking anger from Israel’s Arab minority.
Arab members of the Knesset tore up copies of the bill and shouted their disgust, before some were thrown out of the chamber.
“I am resigning from the Knesset,” Bahloul, a member of the opposition Zionist Union party, said on Saturday.
“Should I sit on the fence? Should I give legitimacy to this destructive, racist, extremist parliament?”
He added that he could not face telling his grandson that he had kept his seat in the Knesset.
It was created because some Israeli Jewish politicians consider the founding principles of Israel’s creation, as a state for Jews in their ancient homeland, to be under threat.
But Israeli Arabs, who comprise about 20% of the country’s population, see it as evidence that Israel is downgrading their status.
They have equal rights under the law but have long complained of being treated as second-class citizens and say they face discrimination and worse provisions than Israeli Jews.