“People ask who needs this bill; we have managed 66 years without it,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said ahead of the meeting. “And I ask, who needs the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, we managed 45 years without it. We need both... Israel is a Jewish democratic state. There are those who want democracy to take precedence over Judaism, and those who want Judaism to take precedence over democracy. In the law that I am bringing, both principles are equal and must be given equal consideration... Israel is the national home of the Jewish people where there are equal rights for every citizen. But there are national rights only for the Jewish people; a flag, anthem, the right of every Jew to immigrate to Israel, and other national symbols. The Palestinians refuse to recognize this, and there is also opposition from within – there are those who want to establish autonomy in the Galilee and the Negev, and who deny our national rights... I also dont understand those who call for two states for two peoples, but at the same time oppose anchoring that in law. They are quick to recognize a Palestinian national home, but adamantly oppose a Jewish national home.” The cabinet authorized three versions of the Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People with 15 votes in favor and six opposed – Netanyahus, as well as versions by coalition chairman Zeev Elkin (Likud) and by MKs Yariv Levin (Likud), Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi) and Robert Ilatov (Yisrael Beytenu), which will go to a preliminary vote in the Knesset Wednesday. Then, the bills will go to a Knesset committee, where they will be combined in accordance with Netanyahus draft. jpost/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Cabinet-approves-Jewish-State-bill-382597
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 18:36:13 +0000
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