The prime minister of Israel is currently trying to pass a law to create Israel an official Jewish state. This is causing some controversy in the democratic country. There are worries that laws will arise that create lawful persecution of other religions. However, Binyamin Netanyahu insisted that civil rights would still be guaranteed, including those of Arab minorities in the region. This is not the first statement as Israel as a Jewish state, though. The nation's declaration of independence (1948) calls Israel a nation of Jewish personages. Netanyahu claims that the need of a law exclaiming a religion is needed. The reasoning lies around the fact that while Israel is a Jewish democracy, only the democratic aspect is protected in the laws, with the Jewish portion being overlooked. Netanyahu claims that as its borders "shrink", there are people who want Israel to become a bi-national, Jewish-Arab state with Palestine. In opposition to this is the Israel justice minister, Tzipi Livni, who is in favor of something less constraining: a definition of Israel of a Jewish and Democratic state. The key difference is the amount of weight being placed on Israel being a Jewish state. Livni suggests an equal amount of weight, rather then the suggestions to put more emphasis on the Jewish part of the state.
The whole article can be found here.
Katie Madel
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