Anees Suheil Barghouti
25 July 2018•Update: 26 July 2018
JERUSALEM
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will discuss the possibility of amending the Jewish nation-state law with the Druze community on Sunday, amid an outcry on Israeli nation-law, local media reported on Wednesday.
According to Times of Israel’s website, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, Israeli Communications Minister Ayoub Kara, a Druze minister of the Likud Party and several Druze lawmakers, will take part in the meeting.
Netanyahu’s move, the website said, comes after Education Minister Naftali Bennett earlier today vowed to work to “heal the wound” the law has inflicted on the Druze community.
“Sources close to Bennett have suggested the Jewish Home leader is open to amending the nation-state law,” it added.
On Monday, Israeli Druze leaders, including three members of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) announced that they will lodge an appeal at the Supreme Court against a recent law recognizing Israel as the “nation-state of the Jewish people.”
The Druze community has been living in northern Israel since 1948 and serve in the obligatory service of the Israeli army and consider themselves Israelis above all else. Exception to that is the Druze of Syrian Golan Heights, which Israel occupied in 1967, which remained bound to their Arab identity.
Israel has come under heavy criticism from the international community after passing The Basic Law, also known as the Jewish Nation-State Law.
The Jewish Nation-State Law defines Israel as a Jewish state with a “united Jerusalem” as its capital. It has also promoted Hebrew as the only official language, stripping Arabic as an official language while recognizing its “special status”.
The new legislation risks further alienating the Arab minority who argue they already face discrimination from Israeli Jews and the government and already feel as though they are second-class citizens.
Palestinians, who have Israeli citizenship make up 21 percent of the population, are known as Israeli Arabs and have members in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
