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Knesset passes Nation-State Bill

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The Israeli parliament passed yesterday a contentious piece of legislation that enshrines in law the principle of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

Members of the Knesset passed the so-called Nation-State Bill with 62 of them voting in favour versus 55 against and two abstaining, following more than eight hours of debate.

The new law confirms the right to self-determination in their homeland as a unique right for the Jewish people, anchors the symbols of the state – which include the flag, the national anthem and the Hebrew calendar – makes Jerusalem the capital of Israel, and Hebrew Israel’s official language. It also defines the development of the Jewish settlement enterprise as a “national value” as well as noting that Jewish people’s heritage and the affiliation between Israel and the Jewish people in the diaspora must be preserved by the State.

Following the vote, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “We enshrined in law the basic principle of our existence. Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people, that respects the individual rights of all its citizens. This is our state — the Jewish state. In recent years there have been some who have attempted to put this in doubt, to undercut the core of our being. Today we made it law: This is our nation, language and flag.”

Last week, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin was heavily critical of a clause in the Bill that stipulated that an applicant to a community can be denied acceptance, for any reason, including reasons of religion and nationality. The clause has since been removed.

The Bill was sponsored by Likud MK Avi Dicther, who first proposed it in 2011. He said that it was “the sharp response to the Joint List MKs and to whoever thinks like them and that its significance is clear”.

He added: “We are passing this important Basic Law today to prevent even the slightest thought, let alone the attempt, of turning the State of Israel into a nation of all its citizens.”

Likud MK Benny Begin announced that he would abstain from voting. He said pursuing the legislation “was not the decision I would expect from the leadership of the Likud” and that “patriotism that is not coupled with human rights deteriorates into nationalism”.

Outgoing opposition leader Isaac Herzog requested to speak after the vote. He said: “The great question is whether this law will cause harm or make a contribution to the State of Israel. History will judge this and time will tell. We are truly saddened that the principle of equality, which is an inalienable asset in the defence of Israel’s good name, has vanished from this law.”

The Nation-State Law is now one of the Basic Laws that underpin Israel’s legal system, and will require a super majority of 61 votes in order to be repealed.