Israel’s Proposed Jewish Nation-State Law Hits Hurdle
A More Jewish State? A proposed 12th Basic Law would clarify what it means for Israel to be a Jewish state. Not everyone agrees. Image by Getty Images
Divisions within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition delayed on Sunday a preliminary vote on a proposed law to declare Israel the nation-state of the Jewish people.
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who heads a centrist party, has expressed concern that the rightist-backed legislation would put preservation of Israel’s Jewish character above democratic values, and she blocked its discussion in a ministerial committee she chairs.
In now-frozen peace talks, Palestinians had rejected Netanyahu’s demand that they recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Legislators from the country’s Arab minority have described the bill as racist.
Netanyahu opened the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday by promising to “move forward on the nationality law” proposed by his right-wing Likud party and far-right allies.
The Israeli leader said it was time for the country’s courts, which have been attacked by some ultranationalists as supportive of Palestinian land rights, “to recognize the aspect of our being the nation state of the Jewish people.”
With Likud’s support, the bill, which Netanyahu said would ensure equal rights for all Israeli citizens, had been expected to receive approval from Livni’s ministerial committee.
After Livni intervened, Netanyahu effectively side-stepped her, announcing he would move discussion of the legislation from her committee to the full cabinet. No date was announced for the cabinet debate.
Underscoring splits in the coalition, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett said he would subsequently withhold his far-right Jewish Home party’s support for bills proposed by centrist members.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
