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.
Knesset member Oren Hazan takes a selfie with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, centre, and MP David Bitan, right of Netanyahu, after a Knesset session that passed a contentious bill, in Jerusalem on Thursday.Credit: AP
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.
"So today we have made a law in stone. This is our country. This is our language. This is our anthem and this is our flag. Long live the state of Israel."
Largely symbolic, the law was enacted just after the 70th anniversary of the birth of the state of Israel. It stipulates: "Israel is the historical homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it."
Benny Begin, son of former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, the founder of Netanyahu's ruling Likud party, was one of those who abstained from voting, warning of the party's growing disconnect from human rights.
"This is not a decision I expected from the Likud leadership," he said.
A Knesset usher removes Jamal Zahalka, an Israeli Arab member of the Knesset representing the Balad party, who was protesting against the passage of the bill.Credit: AP
Palestinian leaders condemned the move. "No racist law will undermine the rights of our people. We are proud of being a strong nation deeply rooted in our homeland," Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement.
Ayman Odeh, the head of the Arab Joint List, pulled out a black flag and waved it during his speech, warning of the implications of the law.
"This is an evil law," he told lawmakers, adding that "a black flag hovers over it".
"Today, I will have to tell my children, along with all the children of Palestinian Arab towns ... that the state has declared that it does not want us here," Odeh said in a statement later.
Israelis wave national flags outside the Old City's Damascus Gate, in Jerusalem.Credit: AP
"It has passed a law of Jewish supremacy and told us that we will always be second-class citizens."
In Brussels, a spokeswoman for EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini expressed concern at the move and said it would complicate a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The bill also removes Arabic as an official language alongside Hebrew, downgrading it to a "special status" that enables its continued use in Israeli institutions.
Israel's Arab citizens number about 1.8 million, about 20 per cent of the population of 9 million.
"I announce with shock and sorrow the death of democracy," Ahmed Tibi, an Arab lawmaker, told reporters after the law was adopted.
Early drafts had gone further in what critics at home and abroad saw as discrimination towards Arabs, who have long said they are treated in Israel as second-class citizens.
Lawmakers removed the most contentious clause of the bill on Sunday, which would have allowed the establishment of "Jewish-only communities" and which critics had called racist.
Israelis, including President Reuven Rivlin, voiced opposition to the earlier draft of the bill.
A more vaguely-worded final version said: "The state views the development of Jewish settlement as a national value and will act to encourage and promote its establishment."
Even after the changes, critics said the new law would deepen a sense of alienation within the Arab minority, which comprises mainly descendants of Palestinians who remained on their land during the conflict between Arabs and Jews that culminated in the war of 1948 surrounding Israel's creation. Hundreds of thousands were forced to leave their homes or fled.
Those who stayed have equal rights under law but say they face constant discrimination, citing inferior services and unfair allocations for education, health and housing.
Eugene Kontorovich, international law director at the Kohelet Policy Forum, a conservative Jerusalem think tank, defended the bill, arguing it "is similar to provisions in many Western democratic constitutions, which provide for an official language and national character that reflects the majority of the population".
Kontorovich dismissed the "faux outrage" against the bill as "simply another attempt to single out the Jewish state and hold her to a double standard".
But American Jewish organisations expressed their disapproval of the law.
The American Jewish Committee, a group representing the Jewish Diaspora, said it was "deeply disappointed", adding that the law "puts at risk the commitment of Israel's founders to build a country that is both Jewish and democratic".
Jeremy Ben Ami, president of J Street, a Washington liberal pro-Israel group, said the bill's purpose was "to send a message to the Arab community, the LGBT community and other minorities in Israel, that they are not and never will be equal citizens.
"Strong connection between Israel and Jews worldwide is based on these values that Israel is both a Jewish and democratic state," Ben Ami said, adding concerns the bill would "weaken the strength of Israel's democracy".
"This is racist legislation by a radical right-wing government that is creating radical laws, and is planting the seeds to create an apartheid state," said physician Bassam Bisharah, 71, a resident of Ma'alot Tarshiha, a municipality in northern Israel created by linking a Jewish and an Arab town.
Israelis opposed to the bill, deeming it discriminatory, took to the streets to protest in large numbers in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
Reuters, AP