Vote on Israeli Bill Some Say Threatens Government is Delayed

The scheduled vote on legislation that would codify Israel as “the nation-state of the Jewish people” was delayed in response to repercussions so severe that pundits are opining that it augurs the fall of the Netanyahu government. Israeli governments are patchwork affairs comprised of a coalition of parties that may or may not see eye to eye on key issues. Threats to withdraw from the coalition and subsequently “bring down the government” are standard fare and are typically resolved before those threatening are faced with actually having to forfeit their seat in Knesset (parliament). The so-called nationality law is particularly divisive because it pits the political right against the left as well as the right wing parties and politicians against each other. Three versions of the bill were presented, although most of the attention is directed toward the prime minister’s bill which has been called “undemocratic” and “discriminatory” by its detractors. The legislation codifies traditional symbols of the Jewish character of the state, but the attorney general has said that its intent is redundant. Prime Minister Netanyahu counters that the bill is important because it underscores that Israel is the state for the Jewish people but safeguards the rights of others. Those who disagree say elements of the state’s Jewishness are already well-established and that the bill is an insult and even a provocation to non-Jews, particularly Israel’s Arab population. Many pundits argue, however, that at the bottom of the political brouhaha is pure local politics. The fight against passage is led by two coalition party heads that face significant losses in the next election according to polling. One of them, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, has raised eyebrows by calling the bill “undemocratic” only days after supporting a law aimed at silencing a newspaper whose outlook she disagrees with.