Israeli Government at Risk of Splitting Up Over Jewish State Bill

MOSCOW, November 24 (Sputnik) – The Israeli coalition government runs the risk of breaking up over a controversial bill defining the nation as a Jewish state, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.
On November 23, the majority of ministers in Israel’s coalition government approved the compromised version of the legislation, proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite opposition from ministers from the centrist Hatnuah and Yesh Atid parties.

The legislation has been sent to the Knesset, which is expected to vote on the bill on Wednesday. However, main opponents of the bill, including Justice Minister Tzipi Livni of the Hatnuah party and Finance Minister Yair Lapid, chairman of the Yesh Atid Party, have signaled that their parties will not vote for it.

“I will not give a hand to this bill,” Livni told Channel 2 after the cabinet vote, as quoted by the Times of Israel, adding that she is prepared to be fired from the cabinet for not supporting the initiative. According to the new bill, all Israeli citizens enjoy equal rights, but only Jewish people have national rights, which include the right to immigrate to the country, according to Netanyahu.

Livni and Lapid maintain that the legislation goes against the democratic values of the country, according to Bloomberg. “The bill submitted today puts the Jewish state before democracy,” Lapid stated during a speech at Tel Aviv University, as quoted by the Times of Israel. “Neither I, nor the Yesh Atid party, will vote for the law.”

“Netanyahu and all of his extreme right-wing coalition members are partners in a crime against Israeli democracy, and will be responsible for one of the blackest stains in Israel’s law books,” said Zahava Gal-On of the left-wing Meretz party.

Opponents of the bill fear that if it becomes law, it will alienate the non-Jewish population of Israel. For instance, Arabs account for approximately 20 percent of the Israeli population, according to the Associated Press.