Israeli ministers to vote on ‘Jewish nation-state’ bill

Current version, introduced by coalition whip Zeev Elkin, considered most extreme iteration of the controversial Basic Law.

By Jonathan Lis | Nov. 16, 2014 |

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation is scheduled to vote today on a draft law that would specify that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people.

The current iteration of the bill— Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People — is sponsored by coalition whip MK Zeev Elkin (Likud), and is considered the most extreme of a series of similar legislative proposals that have been raised this year. In addition to giving Israel’s nation-state status for the Jewish people the force of constitutional law, it specifies that Jewish law is to be a source and “inspiration” for new legislation and judicial rulings. And a previously scrapped clause, under which the Arabic language would no longer be an official language of the state, instead enjoying “special status,” has been restored.

It is thought that Elkin is now pushing the more extreme version of the bill, which would subordinate the state’s democratic nature to its Jewish character, in order to protest the lack of progress by a panel established by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Justice Minister Tipi Livni for the purpose of hammering out a compromise version of the bill. Elkin reportedly fears the committee is simply trying to buy time and does not intend to really advance the matter. The committee has met just twice, and has not convened since the early summer.

Two weeks ago Netanyahu and Livni met with Prof. Ruth Gavison, an expert in Israeli constitutional law, who is leading the process of translating the committee’s recommendation into a bill. They are scheduled to meet again within a few weeks to discuss the issue.

Elkin knows that if he can push the bill through the ministerial committee, meaning it has the backing of the government coalition, and through its first legislative reading during the current Knesset session, the legislative process could be continued in the next Knesset.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.626613