Supporters of Contentious Nation-State Law Revise Problematic Clause

Fighting to preserve a controversial bill that has been widely condemned even by conservative politicians whose base support the measure, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has personally led the effort to make the “Nation-State” legislation pass-able. Tackling the most problematic clause, no longer will the bill okay communities that ban residence of non-Jews in certain towns, but now according to the revised text, “The State views the development of Jewish settlement as a national value and will act to encourage and promote its establishment.” Jewish communities on post-1967 land is now described as “a legitimate realization of the Zionist vision.” The original draft that has been condemned even by President Reuven Rivlin and the Attorney General would have permitted communities that exclude all but Jews.