A far-right minister announced Wednesday that he would push legislation to make Zionism a “guiding and important value” in government decision-making, in an effort to put the principles of the controversial Jewish nation-state law into practice.
Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserloff said the measure, which he billed as “historic”, will come to a vote when the cabinet convenes on Sunday for its weekly meeting, the agenda of which is due to be released on Thursday But not yet released to be set.
“We will continue to raise the flag of Zionism for solutions and security,” Wasserlauf, a member of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party, said in a statement.
He also said the bill would allow the government to “give preference to IDF soldiers and army veterans, strengthening the Jewish nation’s bond to its land and the Negev, the Galilee, and Judea and Samaria.” [West Bank],
According to a draft of the resolution, the Zionist principle, “as expressed in nation-state law … shall be the guiding and vital value” in all government decisions, “without deviating from the values enshrined in the Basic Laws.”
The explanatory supplement to the bill argues that the government takes into account “various professional views” that sometimes “overlook basic Judaism values” and therefore require the measure.
“The following values express the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in the Land of Israel, including settlement, security, culture and aliyah, as recognized in, among others, the Balfour Declaration and the Declaration of Independence, and the Basic Law Anchored in: Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people,” the text reads.
“The government’s decision aims to instruct all officials and branches of government – as part of the considerations involved in determining and implementing policy – to give meaningful consideration to Zionist values,” it says.
An Israeli flag is seen in the E1 area of the West Bank on January 2, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel / Flash 90)
Despite the statement on Sunday’s vote, a source told Haaretz Daily that the bill is not yet ready.
“Wasserlauf and Ben Gwir are trying to determine the facts on the ground and build support for the move in the media,” the source said.
The nation-state law was passed in 2018 as a basic law, a type of protected, quasi-constitutional law. Proponents say the law puts Jewish values and democratic values on the same level. Critics argue that the law violates the basis of Israel’s legal system as well as the Declaration of Independence, and reinforces inequality among its citizens.
The passage of the law particularly angered the Druze community, whose members serve in the Israeli military and see the law’s provisions as making them second-class citizens.
A particular point of objection was the lack of mention of equality in the law, which is not explicitly stated in any of the Basic Laws, although judges have interpreted “Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty” to include it.
Activists and members of the Druze community protest against the nation-state law outside the Knesset on October 15, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Wasserlauf’s measure – if approved – is expected to face legal challenges, Ynet news site cited judicial sources as saying that the High Court rejected petitions against the law on the grounds that it was against Israel’s democratic character. does not conflict with
The nation-state law established Israel for the first time in its semi-constitutional Basic Laws as the “national home of the Jewish people”.
Article seven of the law states that “the State regards the development of ghettos as a national value and shall act to encourage and promote its establishment and consolidation.”
Another section of the bill downgrades the Arabic language from official to “special” status, but also cryptically stipulates that “this section shall not impair the status accorded to the Arabic language prior to the coming into effect of this law.” delivers.”
It declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel, established the Hebrew calendar as the state’s official calendar, and recognized Independence Day, days of remembrance, and Jewish holidays.
