Israel’s Nationality Law Does Not Discriminate Against Minorities

Some non-Jewish citizens of Israel continue to be upset by the passage of the Nationality Law over the summer. They needn’t be: in concert with the Basic Law, the Nationality Law ensures the civic equality of all citizens regardless of religion or ethnic affiliation.

Why Israel Needs the Nation-State Law

Much has been published against the new Israeli Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People. Many, both in Israel and abroad, ask: Why is it necessary? How can it comport with democracy? Where does it leave minorities, particularly Muslim-Arabs, who make up some 20% of the Israeli population?

Ibn Khaldun and the Nation-State Law

Israeli Jewish leftists and Israel’s Arab politicians have been the major detractors of the newly passed “Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People.” Ibn Khaldun’s concept of “asabiyya” (collective esprit de corps) must be marshalled to protect Israel from its enemies and to rein in Israel’s unrealistic “liberals.”

The Machiavellian Opponents of the Nation State Law

The public debate attending the Nation State Law is a clear indicator of Israel’s vibrant democracy and an illustration of the freedom of expression that characterizes the Israeli state of mind. Arabs, Druze, and Jews expressed their views on this matter, both pro and con, notwithstanding the fact that the core argument is essentially political rather than substantive. With that said, the protests in Israel against the new law are a red alert. They reflect an emerging tendency among liberal streams in Israeli Jewish society to undermine the long-accepted principle that Israel is the national home of the Jewish people.

Israel’s Nationality Law Is Not Discriminatory

The newly passed “Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People,” known as the Nationality Bill, does nothing to damage the equality of Israel’s non-Jewish citizens. That is because it addresses the state’s national identity, not the civil rights of its citizens. Introducing the issue of civil liberties to the nationality law, where it does not belong, would effectively imply recognition of Israel as a binational state.