Israel's cabinet submits bill to declare 'Jewish nation state'

[TomSea]

Israel's cabinet submits bill to declare 'Jewish nation state'
Cabinet drafts bill declaring Israel as 'national home of the Jewish people' and degrades Arabic from official language status

Sunday 7 May 2017 15:59 UTC

Israel's cabinet breathed new life on Sunday into efforts to anchor in law the country's status as a Jewish state and revokes Arabic's "official language" status, in legislation Palestinians have described as an obstacle to peace.

A ministerial committee approved a revised version of a bill first proposed in 2011 that declares the "State of Israel is the national home of the Jewish people," its author, Avi Dichter of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, wrote on Facebook.

The legislation still has to go through further drafting by the justice ministry and pass several votes in parliament in what could be a lengthy process.

But the cabinet-level step, two weeks before a visit by US President Donald Trump, could help Netanyahu shore up relations with far-right members of his government and underpin his campaign to press Palestinians to recognise Israel as the "nation-state" of the Jewish people.

Continued: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israels-cabinet-submits-bill-declare-jewish-nation-state-1690789498

I already thought it was a Jewish Nation "State". 

Might as well put it in writing.

[Right_in_Virginia]

I already thought it was a Jewish Nation "State". 

Might as well put it in writing. 

I believe this was approved in committee and has to be voted on in the Knesset.  The far right will love this, the center and left will not.  The stumbling block, obviously, has always been codifying the status and rights of Israeli citizens who are not Jewish.

There's usually a firestorm of opposition and drafts.  Be curious to see if it passes this time and what it would look like in its final form.