Jerusalem: Israel passed a “nation-state” law on Thursday declaring that only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country, stirring anger from members of the Arab minority, who said it was racist, and drawing an expression of concern from the EU.
The bill, backed by the right-wing government, passed through Parliament after months of political argument and some Arab lawmakers shouted and ripped up their papers after the vote.
The law passed with a 62-55 backing, with two members of the Knesset abstaining. The legislation, defined as a “basic law,” granting it quasi-constitutional status, will most likely face a challenge in the Supreme Court.
“This is a defining moment in the annals of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset.
“Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people, which honours the individual rights of all its citizens,” he said. “I repeat this is our state. The Jewish state.
“Lately, there are people who are trying to destabilise this and therefore destabilise the foundations of our existence and our rights,” he added.
Read the article in The Sydney Morning Herald (Reuters/AP).