JERUSALEM — Israel’s Arab leaders filed a petition to the high court Tuesday against a controversial new “nation-state” law, adding to a deluge of opposition to the bill that critics brand an undemocratic betrayal of minority communities.
The petition argued that by declaring Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people alone, the law excludes the rights of its Arab citizens, who make up around 20 percent of the population.
The law, which the petition described as “racist, colonialist and illegitimate,” was passed by Israel’s parliament late last month. It emphasizes the Jewish nature of the state, promotes specifically Jewish settlement and elevates the status of Hebrew over Arabic.
Members of Israel’s nearly Druze community and representatives of Israel’s Bedouins, both minorities known for their loyal service in Israel’s military, have already lodged legal petitions to the court.
The wave of criticism piles pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is already beset by corruption allegations. But the Israeli leader has remained unwavering in the face of the outpouring of opposition, arguing that the law is necessary for future generations and that the protection of minorities is enshrined in other legislation.
Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948 established it as a Jewish state but also stipulated equal rights for its minorities. Israeli political leaders, however, argued that the Jewish nature of the state needed to be enshrined in the Basic Laws, Israel’s de facto constitution.
One of the main criticisms by the legislation’s opponents is that it fails to mention the rights of minorities.
“It is no accident that this law doesn’t mention the word ‘equality’ once,” said Ayman Odeh, an Arab lawmaker who heads the Joint List, the Arab bloc in the Knesset, which backed the petition. “For Netanyahu, we are second-class citizens, not equal members in a democracy that works for the benefit of all its citizens.”
Other than now in Israel, “there is no constitution in the world today containing a clause that determines that the state belongs to one ethnic group or that a given state is exclusive to a certain ethnic group,” said Tuesday’s petition, which was submitted by the Israeli human rights group Adalah and also signed by the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel and the National Committee of Arab Mayors.
The petition called on the Israeli Supreme Court to annul the law, arguing that it also violates the United Nations charter by denying the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
