Defense Minister Benny Gantz and his Blue & White party will table a bill aiming to amend the controversial so-called Nation-State Law, Ynet has learned on Sunday, which could put him on a collision course with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his nationalist Yamina party.
The quasi-constitutional Nation-State Law, or Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People as it is officially known, was passed in 2018 and enshrined Israel's Jewish identity into law. It also downgrades the Arabic language spoken by the country's sizeable Arab minority from a co-official language alongside Hebrew to a "special status" language.
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Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett
(Photo: Dana Kopel, Reuters)
Non-Jewish and liberal Jewish groups have long called to amend the law to include civil equality for all citizens to safeguard the state's democratic character alongside its Jewish identity.
Gantz confirmed on Twitter his intention to challenge the law in the Knesset after any such attempts were put on the back burner in recent months after running into headwinds from Yamina.
"The time has come to enshrine individual equality into Basic Law. Led by [Blue & White faction chairman] MK Eitan Ginzburg, Blue & White will resubmit the Equality Law for a vote in the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, after it was rejected a few months ago," he tweeted.
"I call on all members of the government to support the law, and I hope we can promote it for the benefit of all citizens of Israel and the State of Israel."
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Druze protesters demonstrate against the Nation-State Law outside the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem
(Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)
The proposed bill will guarantee that all citizens of Israel are regarded as equal before the law and that no individual's rights are abridged on account of their faith, race, gender or any other reason.
The initiative comes as non-Jewish communities and some Israeli politicians renewed their calls to amend the law, chief among them is Israel's Druze population after the IDF revealed the identity of special ops commander Mahmoud Kehir el-Din from the Druze village of Hurfeish, who died in a botched intelligence operation in Gaza four years ago.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett hailed him as a hero who dedicated his life to the security of Israel.
Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman said it was the time for legislators from all sides of the political spectrum to consider amending the controversial legislation.
"There is a distinct gap between the Nation-State Law as it was passed, and the praise given to the heroic Mahmoud Kehir el-Din, may he rest in peace," Liberman said.
"This is the opportunity to amend the law and make the Declaration of Independence part of the Basic Law. I call on the coalition and opposition alike to reconsider their position on the Druze community beyond naming them 'brothers in arms,' and to do the right thing."
The Declaration of Independence is Israel's founding document and details the character of the state as envisioned by its founders, including full civil equality. However, the document has no binding legal status.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid later retweeted Liberman's post, adding he agrees "with every word".
On social media, Druze citizens called on Liberman to take action to amend the law, which they say is offensive to the community that has traditionally served in Israel's armed forces.
On Sunday, Druze religious leader Sheikh Moafaq Tarif called on all Knesset factions to act together to amend the law to comport with the principles of the Declaration of Independence.
"I would like to believe and hope that elected leaders on the right, left and center will rise above their differences to heal an open wound," he said.
Blue & White's Ginzburg said a bill to enshrine the Declaration of Independence into Basic Law can be ready for a vote in the ministerial committee as early as Sunday.