Israel’s attempts again to pass the nationality law.

Ted Belman. Two issues stand out.  Should communities be permitted that are exclusively Jewish. Rivlin says “no”. I say yes. Should traditional Jewish law be given more weigth in establishing legal-precidents? I say yes. We are a Jewish state.

INN

The Jewish Home party has threatened to block passage of a long-awaited “nationality law”, defining in law Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, if the Likud abandons a clause in the law strengthening the role of traditional Jewish law in the State of Israel’s legal code.

The Nationality Law would establish the status of the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people and the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in its homeland as a unique right for the Jewish people. It would also anchor the symbols of the state, Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the Jewish calendar as the country’s official calendar, and Hebrew as the official language.

The bill also included provision giving special consideration to traditional Jewish law in Israel’s legal code – a key demand of the Jewish Home.

Recently, however, Likud MKs have signaled their willingness to abandon the clause, Jewish Home lawmakers say.

If the clause is dropped, senior Jewish Home MKs said Monday, the party would block passage of the new version of the bill.

“It is unthinkable that there would be no mention of ‘Mishpat Haivri’ [traditional Jewish law] in the Nationality Law,” said Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee Chairman Nissan Slomiansky (Jewish Home).

“Likud leaders promised to include this in the Nationality Law. Has the Likud really decided to abandon Mishpat Haivri?”

Earlier on Monday, it was reported that Tourism Minister Yariv Levin (Likud) planned to advance the Nationality Law despite opposition from Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.

Mandelblit opposes the section of the bill which would allow Jewish communal settlements to refuse to allow non-Jews to live within their boundaries, the report said.

The above section is the only practical section of the bill, which otherwise is made up mostly of affirmations and statements defining Israel’s Jewish character.

Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ordered the coalition to pass the Nationality Law before the end of the summer Knesset session.

The bill is expected to pass its second and third votes in the Knesset next week.

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https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/248703

A special committee debated the Nationalism Law Tuesday, as part of preparations for second and third readings of the bill in the Knesset next week.

This morning’s debate was held against the backdrop of harsh criticism voiced by President Reuven Rivlin against the clause in the law that allows the establishment of Jewish-only communities.

MK Betzalel Smotrich of the Jewish Home said during the discussion that “The president’s purism stems either from blindness or great moral confusion about Zionism.

“When entire cities and towns in the Galilee are being conquered by the Arabs for blatantly nationalist reasons and the Zionist vision of Judaizing the Galilee is in danger – the possibility of preserving Jewish settlement is the saving of the Zionist vision. It is not discrimination and not anything else, but the saving of the Zionist vision,” Smotrich stressed.

MK Tzipi Livni (Zionist Union) was removed from the discussion by committee chairman MK Amir Ohana (Likud). As she left, she said that “This is a racist government.”

MK Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid) said, “I suggest to MK Ohana that he apologize for saying that he does not know who wrote the letter, Reuven Rivlin the president or Reuven Rivlin the politician. I am not surprised that the president chose this law specifically for the unusual step of sending a letter to Knesset members ” he said.

The deputy attorney general, Raz Nizri, joined the criticism of the clause in the Nationalism Law that would allow the establishment of communities for Jews only, and called for its removal from the law. “We see a very serious legal problem in the section,” he said. “It stands out in its irregularity. It permits personal discrimination against a citizen only because of his national affiliation. I say to the supporters of the law: You are tarnishing this Nationalism Law in vain. “

July 10, 2018 | 4 Comments »

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  1. The motives behind the nation-state bill

    In the final days of the 2015 campaign, the Likud’s strategy of focusing on a nationalist message proved decisive: Voters who had previously leaned toward various right-wing parties coalesced around the Likud. As a result, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defied the polls and pundits and secured a fourth term in office.

    In recent weeks, Netanyahu decided that it would be best if he takes on the right-wing parties well ahead of the next election rather than waiting for the final phase of the next campaign.

    As a result, Netanyahu is waging an all-out campaign to siphon off support from Habayit Hayehudi, and it seems to be working. Polls show that Habayit Hayehudi is not gaining traction, whereas Likud has been able to maintain a sizable lead over the opposition parties.

    As part of this strategy, former Coalition Chairman David Bitan has been publicly praising Habayit Hayehudi’s Ayelet Shaked and calling her to join the Likud. This is also why Netanyahu is once again pushing for the passage of the nation-state bill by the end of this week even though there is nothing that warrants urgency on this matter.

    After 10 years of being rewritten, watered-down and revised, the current iteration of the nation-state bill is essentially a list of laconic provisions that are a far cry from their original intent. That is why it is unclear why the opposition, at least the part of it that sees itself as Zionist, is crying foul. It is just mind-boggling that a bill that lacks any real stipulations could trigger the usual cries of horror from the Zionist Union, Yesh Atid and Meretz over the “end of democracy.”

    But this is exactly why the bill matters, politically. Netanyahu’s sudden urgency has everything to do with what the opposition is doing. In fact, Netanyahu knows that his right-wing base in many cases adopts certain principles just because they are diametrically opposed to the Left’s views.

    Netanyahu knows that by going full steam ahead with the bill, he would face an onslaught from MK Tzipi Livni (Zionist Union) and Meretz Chairwoman Tamar Zandberg. But the two are not his focus. His real goal is to prevent Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett from outflanking him from the Right.

    Netanyahu knows that this is not going to be easy. Netanyahu has soft spots that Bennett can exploit: the ongoing incidents in the south, the controversy over his handling of the Holocaust law in Poland, and even his unsuccessful efforts to deal with asylum-seekers and refugees.

    Netanyahu still has no answer for the incendiary kites in the south but at least he has managed to make the Left go mad. That accomplishment should not be discounted.

    http://www.israelhayom.com/threatening-the-prime-minister-from-the-right/

  2. @ Ted Belman:
    No it is not so, what I am suggesting is to rewrite it to fit as the Nationality Bill. Perhaps trying to do too much with this bill it appears as years later it is still not done.

  4. Ted, It is believed that if Jewish exclusive clause is included (7B) it could be used also to discriminate against different classes of Jews. Also it could be tossed out by the Supreme Court entirely.

    By the time they are done with this will it even be worth it. Seems to me it might just be easier to update the Declaration of Independence and that would suffice.