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Israel PM defends law in face of Druze outrage
JERUSALEM, Aug 5, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on
Sunday defended a law which has outraged Israel’s Druze minority, saying it
would help prevent Palestinians and illegal migrants from seeking Israeli
citizenship.
“The Nation-State Law prevents, for example, the exploitation of the
family reunification clause under which very, very many Palestinians have
been absorbed into the country,” he said at the start of the weekly cabinet
meeting.
“It could be that this law will also be able to assist us in blocking the
future entry of labour migrants,” he said in Hebrew.
The law, which passed last month, is part of Israel’s so-called basic
laws, a de facto constitution.
It makes no mention of equality or democracy, implying that the country’s
Jewish character takes precedence, and speaks of Israel as the historic
homeland of the Jews, who have a “unique” right to self-determination within
its borders.
Arabs have strongly criticised the legislation, particularly those from
Israel’s 130,000-strong Druze community, who say it makes them second-class
citizens even though, unlike other Arabs, they are subject to compulsory
service in the military or police alongside Jewish Israelis.
“The state of Israel is the national state of the Jewish people. Israel is
a Jewish and democratic state. Individual rights are anchored in many laws,”
Netanyahu said Sunday.
“Nobody has harmed — and nobody intends to harm — these individual
rights but without the Nation-State Law it will be impossible to ensure for
(future) generations the future of Israel as a Jewish national state.”
Netanyahu spoke of the “deep bond” between the Jewish state and the Druze,
and he announced the formation of a special ministerial committee to boost
relations.
Tens of thousands of Druze and their supporters rallied in central Tel
Aviv on Saturday to protest against the legislation.
“Despite our unlimited loyalty to the state, the state doesn’t consider us
equals,” Israeli Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Muafak Tarif said in a speech
at the rally.
BSS/AFP/RY/1748 hrs