Israeli ministers debate softened version of ‘Jewish state bill’

Eight months after the previous Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu government dissolved, in part due to controversy surrounding the “Jewish state bill,” Likud MK Benny Begin on Sunday submitted an amended version of the legislation for debate in a ministerial committee, The Times of Israel reported.

Begin’s draft, which is based on a proposal by former Yesh Atid MK Ruth Calderon, strikes a more moderate tone than the original version, which sought to enshrine Israel’s status as a Jewish state in a basic law, titled “Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People,” with constitutional force.

In addition to officially classifying Israel as the Jewish nation-state, the original bill would have ensured national self-determination and individual rights for Jews, but only individual rights for non-Jewish Israeli citizens.

While similar in spirit to its predecessor, Begin’s version, be debated Sunday in the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, presents a diluted version of the legislation’s more controversial reforms and instead focuses on Israel’s democratic nature.

It states that “Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people, based on the foundations of freedom, justice and peace as envisioned by the prophets of Israel, and upholds equal rights for all its citizens.”

It also asserts Israel as a democracy and calls for the anthem, flag and national symbol to be a matter of law. According to the legislation, the text is based on the 1948 Declaration of Independence and aims to embed Israeli symbols into Israel’s Basic Law, giving them constitutional backing.