[ad_1]
Zouheir Bahloul (Zionist Union), a member of the Israeli Arab Knesset, announced on Saturday his intention to resign from the Knesset to protest the controversial nation-state law.
Bahloul announced his resignation in an interview on the television show "Meet the Press".
To truly understand Israel and the Middle East – subscribe to Haaretz
"The law mimes oppresses and oppresses the people who m & # 39; sent to the Knesset, "he said.
"The government submits the Knesset to its whims, the Knesset has become an imprint of exceptional and racist legislation, I will flee like a thunderbolt," continued the legislator.
>> Israel has turned Israel into skeptics as enemies of Israel | Opinion ■ The Israeli Druze leaders in Netanyahu: Changing the law of the nation-state ■ The contentious law of the Israeli nation-state: All you need to know ■ Analysis: Netanyahu is trapping the LGBT and Druze minorities of Israel
The Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People approved by the Knesset on July 19 affirmed that only Jews have the right to self-determination in Israel. He has also downgraded Arabic to a language with a "special status", among several other controversial measures that affect Israeli Druze.
The purpose of the nation-state law is to modify the application of the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty in court decisions and allows judges to give priority to the character Jewish Israel in their decisions.
Opponent Tzipi Livni responded to Bahloul's announcement saying that she regretted her decision, "especially at a time when the tyranny of the majority and extreme nationalism hurt minorities" in our society, all those who believe in a state of Israel both Jewish and democratic, with equality for all. "
The Israeli Labor Party issued an official statement deploring the sudden announcement of Bahloul, writing that party members were "sorry to hear about Zouheir Bahloul's decision: the law of the state- nation is a kick to more than a fifth of the population what would be a Jewish state with or without it.When we come back to power, we will also amend this law, and add to what is supposed to be obvious, the word "equality".
Shelly Yacimovich, a Knesset member, said, "Zouheir's resignation is very unfortunate and disturbing: the fact that an Israeli Arab deeply involved in Israeli society can no longer stay in the Knesset is the only one in the world. 39, one of the many harmful consequences of the racist law of the nation-state, which is so destructive to Israeli society. "
A segment of Arab Israeli society has been at the forefront of resistance to this law, the Druze. On Sunday, Druze lawmakers were the first to petition the High Court of Justice against the law. A hundred Israeli Druze Defense Forces reserve officers added their voices to this effort on Wednesday, prompting Education Minister Naftali Bennett to speak out in favor of "our blood brothers" on Twitter. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting with Druze leaders to discuss the impact of the new law on the Druze community of Israel.
MK Saleh Saad (Zionist camp), one of three Druze lawmakers to have filed an application against the law in the High Court of Justice, said that "the departure of Zouheir Bahloul is a severe blow to the Representing minorities in the Knesset, I remain in the Knesset to represent minorities in general and Druze in particular, and I will continue the struggle until this discriminatory law is annulled.
[ad_2]
Source link
