The Knesset passed into law early Thursday morning the contentious nation-state bill that for the first time legally enshrines the State of Israel as “the national home of the Jewish people.”
The bill, sponsored by Member of Knesset Avi Dikhter (Likud), would establish the status of the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people and the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in its homeland as a unique right for the Jewish people. It would also anchor the symbols of the state, Jerusalem as the capital, the Jewish calendar as the country’s official calendar and the Hebrew language as the official language.
Lawmakers approved the bill in its second and third readings overnight, with 62 voting in favor, 55 opposed and two abstaining, following hours of bitter debate in the Knesset chamber.
Some of the last-minute changes to the bill came after politicians, legal advisers and others warned that some of its clauses were discriminatory.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (Likud) and Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Bayit Yehudi) reached an agreement to cut the controversial clause 7b, which allowed the state to “authorize a community composed of people having the same faith and nationality to maintain the exclusive character of that community,” and replace it with a new clause celebrating “Jewish settlement” in general terms.
Members of Knesset amended the bill accordingly just hours before the final authorization, removing the clause sanctioning housing discrimination on the basis of ethnicity or faith.
Another clause that was not included in the bill was one that would have directed judges to draw on the Jewish people’s traditional legal code in cases where state law or legal precedents provide no guidance in a case. This clause had been removed earlier, before the bill passed its first reading, although MK Nisan Slomiansky (Bayit Yehudi) had at one point threatened to fight to have it restored.
Israel currently lacks a constitution but the Basic Laws underpin Israel’s legal system and are more difficult to repeal than regular laws. The 11 existing Basic Laws deal mostly with state institutions like the Knesset, the presidency and the courts, while Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty defines Israel’s democratic character. The nation-state law is the first Basic Law that relates to Israel’s Jewish character.
Proponents say the bill puts Jewish and democratic values on equal footing but critics argue that the law effectively discriminates against Israel’s Palestinian community, as well as other minority communities.
Some Jews might be lamenting this bill while others rejoice its passing, but the truth is that the nation-state law for the most part does little more than solidify Israel’s hard and shallow Jewish identity without actually advancing Jewish liberation beyond outdated Zionism.
Rather than promote a bill to enshrine the State of Israel’s superficial Jewish decorations (the most meaningful feature of the bill is likely the part making the Hebrew calendar the official calendar of Israel), we should aspire to legislate uniquely Jewish solutions that deeply express our people’s values and identity to some of the most pressing issues confronting the State of Israel, from minority rights and affordable housing to defense and quality government.
A bill promoting a softer but deeper Jewish character would have actually been far less divisive.
