Allison Kaplan Sommer and Bar Peleg ‘Racist and Discriminatory’: U.S. Jewish Leaders Warn Israel Against Passage of Nation-state Bill
American
Jewish leaders, alarmed by the prospect of the controversial
nation-state Basic Law, have intensified their lobbying efforts,
strongly urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reconsider his government’s desire to pass it in the Knesset this week.
Jerry Silverman,
president of the Jewish Federations of North America, was expected to
arrive in Israel Sunday to express his organization’s concerns to top
Israeli officials.
n Tel Aviv on Saturday night, meanwhile, some
7,000 demonstrators marched from Rabin Square to an “emergency rally” at
the intersection of Dizengoff and Bar Giora streets, where they
listened to speeches by politicians and social activists.
The
New Israel Fund took part in the rally – organized by a number of
Israeli advocacy organizations, as well as groups affiliated with the
Meretz, Hadash, Ta’al and Labor parties – to protest what it called a
“racist, discriminatory” bill.
Explained: The controversial bill that would allow Jewish-only communities in Israel ■ EU to Netanyahu: We value Israel’s democratic values - don't want to see them threatened
The bill, which would have a Constitution-like status, would prioritize Jewish values over democratic ones
in the state. One controversial clause, which would permit the
establishment of communities that are segregated by religion or
nationality, was criticized last week by President Reuven Rivlin.
Also participating in the protest were several Israeli lawmakers: Ayman Odeh,
who chairs the predominantly Arab Joint List, slammed the bill as a
"law whose purpose is to stick a finger in the eyes of a fifth of
Israel's population, spark a dispute and polarize in order to make
political gain for the Netanyahu tyranny."
Speaking at the demonstration, Odeh said that "in
a government that has lost all shame, that fears its own shadow, the
majority tramples the minority, legislation is racist and the democratic
space is under constant threat."
MK Tamar Zandberg,
who heads Meretz, charged that Netanyahu's government was attempting to
push the law through in order to distract Israelis from the dire
situation in the Gaza Strip.
"Today, we see what
happens when the government doesn't have a solution facing Gaza – all it
can offer are racist laws," she said.
Rabbi Gilad Kariv, CEO of the Reform Movement in Israel, echoed the criticism, blasting the bill as "contemptible."
"The real score we need to settle is with those
elected by the public [Knesset members] who know deep inside how much
the nation-state bill is going to tarnish the Israeli law book – and
remain silent nonetheless," he said.
New Israel Fund
CEO Daniel Sokatch is among a growing number of American Jewish leaders
issuing strong public statements against the bill, calling it a “danger
to Israel’s future.”
“This is tribalism at
its worst,” said Sokatch. “Beginning with Israel’s Declaration of
Independence, the Jewish value of human dignity and the principle of the
equality of all people have formed the democratic foundation of the
state. This law is completely incompatible with those values. It is a
slap in the face to Arab Palestinian citizens of Israel and provides a
legal basis to discriminate based on religion, race and sex.
“If racism, sexism and religious fundamentalism
are to be protected in Israel’s Basic Laws, it should be no surprise
when the country embodies those values,” he added. “This bill and the
government that supported it are a danger to Israel’s future.”
Rabbi Rick Jacobs,
president of the Union for Reform Judaism, also spoke out, saying that
such a law “will make Israel an open target on the world stage for all
those who seek to deny the Jewish people our right to a homeland.
“If passed, it will
create a dangerous precedent for democracy in Israel,” said Jacobs in a
statement. “It is a 180-degree turn from Israel’s Declaration of
Independence, which enshrines freedom and democracy for all Israelis.
This bill would instead upend democratic norms and create an Israel that
is unequal. It is a grave threat to Israeli democracy,” Jacobs added.
Jacobs said the bill both “hurts the delicate
balance between the Jewish majority and Arab minority, and it enthrones
ultra-Orthodox Judaism at the expense of the majority of a pluralistic
world Jewry.”
Reform Jewry, he added, was “vehemently opposed” to the bill and vowed to fight it “aggressively.”
A group of 14
American Jewish organizations directed their deep concerns about the
bill to incoming Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog, who still serves
as leader of the Opposition in the Knesset.
The organizations
said the bill would eliminate “the defining characteristic of a modern
democracy” – protecting rights for all. Instead, its letter said, “this
bill would remove that democratic basis and give constitutional protection to policies
that could discriminate against minorities, including women, Palestinian
citizens, racial minorities, LGBT people, non-Orthodox Jews, Muslims,
Druze, Christians and others.”
The letter was signed
by the New Israel Fund, J Street, T’ruah, Americans for Peace Now,
Ameinu, Aytzim’s Green Zionist Alliance, Habonim Dror North America,
Hashomer Hatzair North America, Keshet, the National Council of Jewish
Women, Reconstructing Judaism, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association,
Right Now: Advocates for Asylum Seekers in Israel, and Tivnu: Building
Justice.
The Israel Policy Forum “urged” the Netanyahu government to drop the bill entirely, or, failing that, to at
least amend it, excising any discriminatory elements while incorporating
elements that reinforce Israel’s democratic character, without delay.”
In May, two groups – the Anti-Defamation League and J Street – had expressed early opposition to the bill when it was approved by a ministerial committee to return to the Knesset floor for consideration.
Allison Kaplan Sommer
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