Israel approves controversial law that defines it as the state of the Jewish people

After intense debate, parliamentarians enact legislation that gives Jews the exclusive right to self-determination and declares Hebrew as the only official language. The Israeli parliament on Thursday approved a controversial law that defines the country as the state of the Jewish people. Arab legislators have criticized the legislation as racist, stating that it legalized "apartheid" in the country.

Approved by 62 votes to 55, after intense debate, the "nation-state" law protects the Jewish identity of Israel, called the "national home" of the Jewish people. The new law states that "Israel is the historical homeland of the Jewish people", which has the exclusive right to self-determination.

Legislation also establishes Hebrew as the national language, declbadifying Arabic, which was once considered an official language, with the status of "special".

It is also defined as "symbols of the country Hatikva national anthem – adapted from a Jewish poem and speaking of the return of the people in Israel – the white and blue flag with the star of David in the center, a seven-branched menorah with branches of "

" is a turning point in our history, which inscribes in stone our language, our anthem and our flag, "said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the vote of the law, supported by his right-wing government. "Israel is the nation of the Jewish people, which respects the individual rights of all citizens, that is our state – the Jewish state."

By law, all Jews have the right to emigrate to Israel and obtain citizenship in accordance with the provisions of the law. "The state will act to bring Jews into exile and promote Jewish settlements on their territory and allocate resources for this purpose," writes the approved text.

Last week, Netanyahu promised to guarantee the protection of all civil rights, but said that "the majority also has rights, and most decide."

Arabs make up about 20% of the nearly 9 million Israelis and have long complained of discrimination.

Rain of Criticism

After pbading the Knesset (Parliament), the law will become part of the basic laws of Israel, similar to the Constitution.

Ayman Odeh, leader of the coalition of the mostly Arab common list, clbadified the new law of the "death of democracy" Israeli, stating that

"Separation, discrimination, supremacy and racism are now enshrined in the Basic Laws, "he writes on Twitter, calling on Arab and Jewish democrats to unite against nationalism. Saeb Erekat, Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization, described the law as dangerous, saying it "legally defines Israel as an apartheid system."

Avi Dichter of the Likud party in Netanyahu said the law aims to defend Israel's status as a Jewish and democratic state. The government pushed for the adoption of the bill after years of debate and a series of drafts

The law was pbaded after the amendment of a controversial clause protecting the "creation of communities composed by faith or origin ". "and was seen by opponents as legalizing the establishment of exclusively Jewish communities.

The proposal was even criticized by President Reuven Rivlin, who found it discriminatory. President is only symbolic, has made a rare intervention in politics to warn that legislation could harm the Jewish people around the world and in Israel and even be used as a weapon by the country's enemies. [19659006] states that "the state considers the development of Jewish communities as of national interest and will take measures to encourage, promote and implement this interest"

LPF / dpa / afp / kna / efe / dw

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