The new laws of Israel point in a dangerous direction

Extremist Zionists have rarely been more inclined to support an uncompromising agenda. The coalition government of Benjamin Netanyahu faces little opposition. By taking maximalist positions, he has the full support of a populist nationalist president in the White House.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister's muscular identity politics hardly stand out at a time of resurgent nationalism in Europe and in other parts of the world. It even enjoys the tacit support of Arab neighbors, at least when it comes to containing Iran's influence in the Middle East. Last week's changes to the basic laws that govern Israel – in the absence of a constitution – can be seen in this context.

The new laws have the effect of privileging Jewish identity over democratic values, thus eroding one of the principles on which the Israeli state was founded. Jews will enjoy exclusive rights to national self-determination within the borders of Israel. Arabic will be downgraded from its official language status. The settlements, which have already eaten away in what could have been a viable Palestinian state, are not only encouraged by law. In other legislative changes that support an expansion of the construction program, Palestinian access to the Supreme Court will be cut in the case of land disputes.

After pbading these changes, eight years since they were discussed, lawmakers in the Knesset offer insights into what a single state shared between Israel and the Palestinians might look like. From the Arab point of view, it seems decidedly dark.

Unsurprisingly, representatives of the 1.8 million Arabs living in Israel are outraged. The same is true for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank. The bill, adopted by the majority of the slimmest, may remain partly symbolic and will face legal challenges. It nonetheless points to a tilt in a dangerous direction, potentially legitimizing discrimination against the Arab population in Israel.

Of course, they still have the right to vote. Nor were they deprived of representation in parliament. But the Arabs' concern about the intention behind this bill, adopted at a time when the prospects of Palestinians and Israelis living peacefully side by side in separate states have disappeared, is understandable.

Although statistics remain subject to heated debate, some official documents suggest that Arab populations in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank are close to parity with Jews. The new laws remind us that in the event that a greater Israel subsumes the Palestinian territories, the founding principles of Israel, both Jewish and democratic, would become incompatible.

For Israel to maintain its character as a Jewish homeland, Palestinians should either be denied the right to vote, or they would in fact challenge Jewish supremacy over the state. In a more extreme scenario, Palestinians would be deported to prevent this outcome.

David Ben Gurion, the founding prime minister of Israel, warned, as a result of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, when he called for renunciation of newly conquered territories. More recently, Ehud Barak did it.

The nationalist and ultra-Orthodox legislators who dominate the Knesset today are not endowed with such foresight. The laws they have just voted can play their immediate electoral advantage.

In the longer term, they risk undermining the pluralistic nature of the Israeli state and fueling even more conflict. Mr. Trump may seem optimistic. There is no guarantee that his successors will be so friendly.