2 Major Funders Of Israel Join Growing Criticism Of New Nation-State Law
Demonstrators protest against the Jewish Nation-State Bill in Tel Aviv, Israel on July 14, 2018. (Photo by Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images) Image by Getty Images
(JTA) — The Jewish Federations of North America and The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, two organizations that provide major funding to projects in Israel, joined the criticism of Israel’s new nation-state law.
Jewish Federations, which annually donates many millions of dollars to Israel and the Jewish Agency for Israel, focused its criticism on dissatisfaction with the law among some members of the Druze minority, an Arabic-speaking community where most men serve in the Israeli army.
In a statement Thursday that a spokesperson posted on Facebook, the umbrella group for federations across North America said it stands “shoulder to shoulder with the Druze community” and urges Israeli legislators “to work with the community as soon as possible to address their very real concerns.”
The law, which enshrines Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people and has quasi-constitutional status, identifies Arabic as a language with “special status.” It says that “the realization of the right to national self-determination is unique to the Jewish People” and “the state will work to ensure the wellbeing of the members of the Jewish People and of its citizens who are in trouble and captivity for their Judaism or citizenship.”
Amal Asad, a Druze leader, and several other prominent members of the community have objected to the new law along with Israel’s Arab lawmakers and many Jewish opposition lawmakers. Asad said it reduces Druze Israelis to “second-class citizens.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly ended a meeting Thursday with Asad and other Druze leaders, reportedly over Asad’s allegation on Facebook that Netanyahu was turning Israel into an “apartheid” state.
Advocates of the law say it merely states de facto realities in Israel — including its purpose, flag and national anthem — without replacing or undermining other laws with the same status that guarantee equality for all Israelis.
Also Thursday, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews in a statement urged Israel’s government to amend the new law “so that it includes ‘equality’ for Druze and other minorities.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
