Date:
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
‘All citizens should enjoy equal rights,’ says State Department
spokesman; ADL calls planned legislation ‘unnecessary’
BY LAZAR BERMAN November 24, 2014, 11:16 pm | The Times of Israel|
The State Department said Monday that the US expects that Israel “continue [its]
commitment to democratic principles,” as debate over Israel’s controversial nationstate
bill continued.
In a Monday press briefing, State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said, “The United States
position, which is unchanged, has been clear for years – and the President and the Secretary [of
State] have also reiterated it – is that Israel is a Jewish and democratic state in which all citizens
should enjoy equal rights.”
The nationstate bill, which has seen multiple drafts but awaits the drafting of a final government
proposal expected to be presented in the Knesset next week, would enshrine in a constitutional
Basic Law Israel’s identity as a Jewish state.
Meanwhile, the AntiDefamation League’s Abraham Foxman said in a statement that the debate
over Israel’s Jewish and democratic character “undermined the settled nature of this essential
element of Israel’s national identity. Attempts to further codify this concept in the Basic Laws are
wellmeaning but unnecessary. It is troubling that some have sought to use the political process to
promote an extreme agenda which could be viewed as an attempt to subsume Israel’s democratic
character in favor of its Jewish one.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday afternoon that he was determined to pass the
bill, even if he does not have the backing of his entire cabinet.
“It is important to exhaust the channels of dialogue, and I am ready to give this dialogue a chance,”
he said during the weekly Likud faction meeting. “I am determined to pass this bill with or without
agreement. It is very important for securing the future of the nation of Israel, in the Land of Israel,
in the State of Israel.
“The principles that I am advancing give expression to Israel being the national Jewish state, and
only that, while protecting rights.”
Asked if elections are in the offing after coalition parties Hatnua and Yesh Atid expressed
opposition to the proposal this week, Netanyahu said laconically, “Time will tell.”
Coalition leaders decided on Monday to delay a preliminary vote on two drafts of the proposed bill
by one week, as some ministers vowed to continue to oppose the measure even if it meant their
jobs — and the future of the coalition.
Yisrael Beytenu MK Robert Ilatov initially proposed the weeklong delay, which was backed by the
Jewish Home party at a meeting of coalition leaders in the Knesset Monday.
The decision came just hours after Justice Minister Tzipi Livni reiterated her intention to fight the
bill, and challenged the prime minister to decide whether he was willing to break up his coalition
over the measure.
“This bill will not pass because we are not ready and I am not prepared to be a fig leaf for
something so problematic,” Livni told the Ynet news site on Monday. “And if it goes [to a vote, as
had originally been scheduled] on Wednesday, I will not let it pass and will not compromise
regarding its wording.
“The prime minister will have to decide whether he will fire ministers in his government and topple
his coalition over their opposition to a law that goes against a Jewish and democratic Israel,” she
said. “If he wants elections over this, no problem.”
The bills originally slated for the Wednesday vote will not become law, as the cabinet voted on
Sunday to incorporate them into a future government bill after they pass the preliminary vote. In
essence, the different versions were slated to receive the Knesset’s initial nod, and then be
replaced by an agreedupon government version drafted by the prime minister and Attorney
General Yehudah Weinstein.
On Sunday, cabinet ministers approved a twopage document containing 14 principles that a
future government bill will be based on. While guaranteeing Israel’s democratic character, the bill,
a softened version of the other proposals, would reserve the right of national selfdetermination
within the boundaries of the state of Israel to Jews alone.