Israel's Nation-State Law: It Was Time To Be Said

Nadene Goldfoot                                                      

Israel is 73 years old and finally got around to write down what was known and understood by all its people.  Evidently this is legally and politically something that must be said and understood so as not to risk the chance that it might be lost to the majority of people.  

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government backed the legislation in 2018,  and was overjoyed at the law’s passing.  This means it passed in the Knessett of 120 seats, with at least 61 votes.   Netanyahu lauded the law as “a defining moment in the history of the state” — a phrase that was splashed across the front pages of Israel Hayom, the country’s most-read newspaper, which is often described as Netanyahu’s Fox News for its favorable coverage of his government.

The nation-state law that was legislated last month did indeed set off a seismic shift. The law, which legally defines Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, forces the Jewish public in Israel and around the world to confront the identity of the state and the basic premise behind the entire Zionist enterprise: The return of the Jewish people to Zion and our responsibility for one another.

1. Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people, who have the unique right of national self-determination. 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uPHaioopKM-Barbara Streisand)

                                           

        
                                                      

2. The flag and the menorah are national symbols.  The national anthem is "Hatikva."  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_9N1ldPtQ8                                                      

3. Jerusalem is the united capital of Israel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8bSfSLKweU Jerusalem of Gold

                                                 

4. Official language is Hebrew.  Arabic has special status.

             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzIxfKndY5A  Alphabet song                                  

5. Israel will be open to Jewish aliyah.

                                                 

    Olim  so glad to be  in Israel that they kiss the ground

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLefr1CWEkI  Adon Olam

6. Israel will work in the Diaspora to preserve the affinity between Israel and Jewish people.                  

   Jewish Community Center, Portland, Oregon

7. Israel will ensure the safety of the Jewish people and work to preserve the cultural, historical and religious heritage of Jews in the Diaspora.

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOBjDh-Kuyw-Ofra Haza                 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu5Cgb6Yy4Y-Ofra Haza                                                               

  Ariel 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of the Green Line and 34 kilometres (21 mi) west of the Jordan border. Ariel was first established in 1978 and its population was 20,540 in 2019, composed of veteran and young Israelis, English-speaking immigrants, and immigrants from the Former Soviet Union, with an additional influx of above 10,000 students. It is the fourth largest Jewish city  in the Judea-Samaria after Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit, and Ma'ale Adumim.  They should not be called settlements.  Portland, Oregon is no longer a little settlement.  Like children, settlements grow into cities.   

           Yeshiva University

8. The state places national value on the development of Jewish settlement (ugh) and will act to encourage and promote its establishment and consolidation.                         

9. The Hebrew calendar is the official calendar of the state.  The Gregorian calendar will also have official status.

10. Independence Day is an official national holiday.  Holocaust Remembrance Day and Memorial Day are official remembrance days.

                            

11. The Sabbath and Israel holidays are days of rest.  Non-Jews have a right to days of rest on their holidays.  Actually, we go to synagogue, rest afterwards.  Here's Neveh Shalom in Portland.  All over the world, on the same hour and day, Jews will be reading the very same sections of the Torah and Haf-Torahs, whether they are in Israel or Portland.                                             

      Knesset behind the Menorah

12. Changes to the law can only be made with a Basic Law passed by a majority of Knesset members. That would be at least 61 out of 120.   

Resource:https://www.vox.com/world/2018/7/31/17623978/israel-jewish-nation-state-law-bill-explained-apartheid-netanyahu-democracy
https://onepathnetwork.com/jewish-nation-state-law/?gclid=CjwKCAjwk6-LBhBZEiwAOUUDpwH63thc7UCQHiAW8mW8RqYrObD_KGRLmJXJhPD2_X_cEIoDQMfPbBoCFoUQAvD_BwE
https://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/peace/guide/pages/declaration%20of%20establishment%20of%20state%20of%20israel.aspx
https://www.israelhayom.com/2018/08/10/the-lie-behind-the-nation-state-law-backlash/