Israel passes law on state's Jewishness
The Israeli parliament has just passed a constitutional law on the Jewish nature of the state, sparking a wave of fierce protests from representatives of Arab minorities.
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| Israel |
The document declared Israel to be the "national home of the Jewish people", and that only Jews had the right of national self-determination within its borders. The law stipulated that only Hebrew would be considered the national language, with Arabic given "special status", although the Arabic language is still formally equal to Hebrew.
"This is a decisive moment in the history of Zionism and the State of Israel… We enshrine in law the fundamental principle of our existence: Israel is a nation-state of the Jewish people, which respects the individual rights of all its citizens. In the entire Middle East, Israel is the only country that respects these rights," — Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said.
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| Jewish Passover |
The bill passed with 62 votes in favor of 120 deputies, 55 against, and 2 abstentions. The vote itself was dramatic, with applause from the ruling coalition and shouts of "racism" from the Arab lawmakers, who tore up the bill in protest.
