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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel will continue to guarantee the rights of all its citizens without exception.
A law that establishes which patriotic symbols, the official language or the capital of the country would be considered a simple procedure in many parts of the world. But this is not the case.
The Basic Law of the nation-state of Israel approved this Thursday during an enlightened session of the Knesset (parliament) that sparked a great controversy and was considered by some. parliamentarians like "the death of democracy" in the country .
The norm was adopted by 62 votes in favor, 55 against and two abstentions (coming, of course, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling Likud party)
- "A Jewish Nation-State ": the controversial law that changes the status of Israel
- Why Jerusalem is such a contested city and why not energy except the United States Recognizes as the capital of Israel
The controversial text has constitutional status Since Israel does not have a Magna Carta proper but rather a set of basic laws – like the one just adopted – to establish the values , princ
But why causes so much controversy
BBC World brings you three keys to understanding what is happening. Democracy in danger?
The Basic Law of the Nation-State states that its purpose is "to badure the character of Israel as the national state of the Jews in order to codify in a fundamental law the values of Israel as a Jewish democratic state in the spirit of the principles of its declaration of independence. "
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Groups of people protested last week in Tel Aviv against the approval of the Basic Law of the Nation-State.
At the same time, he states that "Israel is the historic home of the Jewish people" and states that they have an "exclusive right of self-determination" on the country.
The norm ratifies as national symbols three elements of Judaism: the white and blue flag with the star of David in the center, the hymn Hatikva (musical adaptation of 39; a Jewish poem on the return of the Jewish people to Israel) and the ] menorah (Jewish seven-branched chandelier) with olive branches at the ends.
The final version of the text, however, ruled out two of the most controversial provisions
. Supreme who would give priority in their decisions to the condition of Israel as the Jewish state on its democratic character in cases where there was no precedent and a conflict between the two elements occurred.
The abandoned use has laid the foundation for the formation of communities separated by nationality or religion.
These and other factors aroused strong criticism from Israeli Arab parliamentarians who claimed that the new law called into question the position of the Arab minority in "Today, I am going to have to tell my children, as well as all the children of the Arab-Palestinian peoples in the country, that the state declared that he did not want us here ", he said. Ayman Odeh, one of these legislators
He stated that the Knesset had "pbaded a law of Jewish supremacy and told us that we will always be second-clbad citizens clbad. "
Lawmaker Ayman Odeh said the new law condemns Israeli Arabs to be" second-clbad citizens ".
"With shock and sadness, I announce the death of democracy," said Israeli legislator Ahmed Tibi
The tension between the democratic and Jewish character of Israel has made the subject of debate for years.
Experts warn that if current demographic trends are maintained – citizens of Arab origin, among whom there are Muslims but also Christians, already constitute 20% of the country – there may come a time when Israel will have to choose between In this Thursday's debate, the former candidate for the post of prime minister and opposition leader in parliament, Isaac Herzog, stressed this difficulty
"The question is whether this law will harm or benefit Israel, tell the story, I really hope that the delicate balance between a Jewish and democratic state will not be compromised, "he said. said.
For now, Netanyahu has affirmed the existing majority. 659021] Copyright image
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"An absolute majority wants to ensure the Jewish character of our state for future generations," said Netanyahu.
"We will continue to guarantee civil rights in Israeli democracy, but the majority also has rights and the majority decides" declared last week in defense of the new law
L & # Absolute wants to ensure the Jewish character of our state for future generations.
On Thursday, Netanyahu said that Israel is the only country in the Middle East that guarantees equal rights to its citizens.
] 2. Promotion of Colonies
The New Law is also a source of further friction between Israel and its Arab neighbors in general, and Palestinians in particular, by providing significant support to Jewish settlers residing in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
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It is estimated that about 400,000 settlers live in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The text states that " the state considers the development of Jewish settlements as a national value and that it will act to encourage and promote its establishment and its consolidation". [19659007] Moreover, the law states that Jerusalem "complete and united" is the capital of Israel.
It is estimated that only 400,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank.
The establishment of settlements in the occupied territories was one of the main sources of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians but also with the rest of the International community.
- 6 questions to understand the controversial law on Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories
In December 2016, the UN Security Council pbaded a resolution condemning this Israeli policy and demanding that it be terminated immediately and completely.
Because of the decision of the then US President's government, Barack Obama, to refrain from using his veto power in the Security Council, which was interpreted as a gesture to show his disagreement with the actions of the Netanyahu government. the Palestinians.
3. Hebrew as an Official Language
The Basic Law of the Nation-State recognizes Hebrew as the "official language" of Israel and removes this condition in Arabic, which enjoys a "special status" it will allow it to continue to be used by the country's institutions.
This measure was also considered an affront by Israeli Arabs.
Although the laws of the land establish equal rights for all its citizens, the members of this community complain because they consider that they are treated as second clbad citizens
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Hebrew was declared the official language while Arabic will have a status "special".
They claim to be victims of discrimination on issues such as housing, health and education.
"(This law) was born in sin, its only purpose is to send a message to the Arab community, the LGBT community and other minorities in Israel that they are not and will never be equal citizens, "said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, an American organization that defends the state of Israel and pleads for peace with the Palestinians.
But if this law is so controversial, what has pushed the Netanyahu government to seek its approval?
"This is our country, the country of the Jewish nation." In recent years, some have tried to question that. question the foundations of our existence that is why we have taken up our anthem, our language and our flag in one law, "Prime Minister Netanyahu said during the debate
., some of your critics say that's what the president is seeking to get support for the legislative elections next November.
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The opposition leader Tzipi Livni said that with this law Netanyahu is seeking his own benefit.
Tzipi Livni, head of the Zionist opposition Union, believes that the purpose of the new law is not to define Israel as a Jewish state, but to benefit to Netayahu
"When I asked coalition lawmakers (in power) why they did not present a version of the law to which a hundred parliamentarians could join, they m & # 39; smiled and said that Netanyahu wanted the law to generate conflict. "Otherwise, how will people know that he is more nationalistic than you? ", He said.
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