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Backgrounder: The Jews-Only “Nation-State” Bill

20 July 2018

This is a new Basic Law, with a status similar to Constitutional Amendments in the American system. Laws and policies that violate the Basic Laws are considered to be unconstitutional in the Israeli system.

The law strongly favors Jews and Judaism over others living in Israel, in contrast to the guarantees of equality articulated in Israel’s Declaration of Independence. NIF CEO Daniel Sokatch has called the law “tribalism at its worst” and has pointed out that “it is a slap in the face to Arab Palestinian citizens of Israel.”

The law was intensely debated. The special Knesset committee with jurisdiction for this law met for long sessions five times in the course of one week to hammer out the final text.

Under normal rules, the bill would have been reviewed by the Constitution Committee, but MK Benny Begin – who holds one of Likud’s seats on the Constitution Committee – strongly opposed the law. Without his vote, the coalition would not have been able to move it through the normal committee process. The special committee was formed to circumvent Begin’s influence.

*View the people who voted for and against the Nation-State Law »

Rights for Jews-Only

  • The law states that “the State of Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people” and nowhere does it mention that Israel is a democracy. Earlier versions had identified Israel as a Jewish state “with a democratic regime.” That formula was seen as subverting the democratic character of Israel to its religious and national identity.
  • The law states that “the right to national self-determination within the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people.” This clause – and other elements of the law – are inconsistent with Israel’s Declaration of Independence which promises “complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex.”
  • The law establishes that “Jewish settlement” is a “national value,” and that Israel would “encourage” its development. It is unclear at this point as to whether this clause will enable the government to create Jewish-only towns and cities. Existing law allows for small villages to reject new residents. The “Acceptance Committees Law” was passed by the Knesset in 2011 and upheld by the High Court in 2014. Now this practice enjoys some constitutional protection.

Other Discrimination

  • Nowhere in the law is the principle of equal protection under the law upheld, and some parts of the law, such as the provision defining “Jewish settlement” as a “national value,” could be interpreted as allowing discrimination. This was not an overlooked detail or a mishap, but one of the key purposes of the law. Knesset Member Tzipi Livni has publicly said that the Prime Minister refused to consider the inclusion of the word “equality” in versions of this law considered during her tenure as Justice Minister.
  • Earlier versions of the bill included a “heritage” clause that, by creating a right for citizens to protect their culture, jeopardized court precedents that barred discrimination along religious, ethnic, gender, and socio-economic lines. Court rulings that guaranteed that women could not be forced to sit at the back of the bus, for instance, could have been overruled by claims that segregating men from women is a part of the Jewish “heritage.”
  • Earlier versions of the bill explicitly established the government’s right to create and enforce segregated towns on basis “including” of religion and nationality. While this clause seemed to be aimed at allowing Jewish-majority towns to discriminate against Arab citizens of Israel, many feared that this clause would also justify discrimination against others, such as Mizrahi Jews and Russian-speakers who have faced discrimination in land and housing policies in the past.

Judaism and Jewish Law

  • The law establishes a responsibility for Israel to the welfare of Jews outside of Israel. Earlier drafts spoke of Israel’s responsibility to Jews “everywhere.” This change was intended to deny any obligation by the State to Reform, Conservative, or Reconstructionist Jews within Israel.
  • Earlier drafts had established that Jewish religious law would be among the considerations of the Israeli judicial system.

Jerusalem

  • The law establishes that the “entire and united” Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. This clause may complicate future negotiations over a two-state solution.

Official Languages and Symbols

  • The law gives constitutional force to a number of symbols of Israel by stating that “the state flag is white with two blue stripes near the edges and a blue Star of David in the center” and that “the state emblem is a seven-branched menorah with olive leaves on both sides.”
  • The law states that “the state’s language is Hebrew” and “the Arabic language has a special status in the state,” downgrading Arabic from its previous status as an official state language just as Hebrew was.

MKs Who Voted For the Nation-State Law

Likud
Ofir Akunis
David Amsalem
Anat Berko
David Bitan
Nava Boker
Avi Dichter
Yuli-Yoel Edelstein
Zeev Elkin
Gilad Erdan
Gila Gamliel
Yehuda Joshua Glick
Tzachi Hanegbi
Sharren Haskel
Oren Asaf Hazan
Ayoob Kara
Haim Katz
Yisrael Katz
Yoav Kisch
Nurit Koren
Yariv Levin
Jackie Levy
Yaron Mazuz
Avraham Neguise
Benjamin Netanyahu
Amir Ohana
Miri Regev
Yuval Steinitz
Miki Zohar

Kulanu
Rachel Azaria
Merav Ben Ari
Eli Cohen
Elie Elalouf
Roy Folkman
Yoav Gallant
Michael Oren
Tali Ploskov
Yifat Shasha-Biton

Jewish Home
Uri Yehuda Ariel
Eli Ben Dahan
Naftali Bennett
Shuli Moalem-Refaeli
Ayelet Shaked
Nissan Slomiansky
Bezalel Smotrich
Mordhay Yogev

Shas
Yinon Azoulay
Yoav Ben Tzur
Michael Malchieli
Yakov Margi
Meshulam Nahari
Dan Saida
Yitzhak Vaknin

United Torah Judaism
Yakov Asher
Israel Eichler
Moshe Gafni
Yakov Litzman
Uri Maklev
Menachem Eliezer Moses

Yisrael Beitenu
Oded Forer
Robert Ilatov
Sofa Landver
Yulia Malinovsky

MKs Who Voted Against the Nation-State Law

Zionist Union
Yael Cohen Paran
Leah Fadida
Zouheir Bahloul
Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin
Saleh Saad
Eyal Ben Reuven
Tzipi Livni
Amir Peretz
Stav Shaffir
Ksenia Svetlova
Revital Swid
Itzik Shmuli
Micky Rosenthal
Michal Biran
Nachman Shai
Yoel Hasson
Shelly Yachimovich
Isaac Herzog
Eitan Cabel
Merav Michaeli
Eytan Broshi
Yehiel Hilik Bar
Omer Barlev

Joint List
Talab Abu Arar
Jouma Azbarga
Dov Khenin
Jamal Zahalka
Hanin Zoabi
Saeed Alkharumi
Masud Ganaim
Abd Al Hakeem Haj Yahya
Ahmad Tibi
Yousef Jabareen
Wael Younis (since resigned)
Ayman Odeh
Aida Touma-Sliman

Yesh Atid
Yael German
Elazar Stern
Ofer Shelah
Yair Lapid
Penina Tamamu-Shata
Mickey Levy
Meir Cohen
Haim Jelin
Yoel Razvozov
Aliza Lavie
Karin Elharar

Meretz
Ilan Gilon
Michal Rozin
Esawi Frej
Tamar Zandberg
Mossi Raz

Yisrael Beitenu
Hamad Amar

Kulanu
Akram Hasoon

MKs Who Abstained

Benny Begin (Likud)
Orly Levi-Abekasis (Independent)

MKs Who Were Absent

Tzipi Hotovely (Likud)
Yossi Yonah (Zionist Union)

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