Al Jazeera News :
Tens of thousands of people including Jews and Arabs rallied in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv to protest the country’s controversial “Jewish state law”.
Passed last month, the divisive law officially affirms Israel’s Jewish character, but critics say it turns non-Jewish citizens of the country into second-class citizens, further marginalising some 1.8 million Palestinians with Israeli citizenship and other minorities.
The protesters marched through the streets of the city on Saturday night calling for the law’s cancellation.
“This is amazing. This is the first time I remember Jews and Palestinians fighting together for something. This is a really big moment for people that believe in democracy and equality,” an unidentified demonstrator told Al
Jazeera. A Jewish participant agreed, saying all citizens of Israel should be equal under the law.
“We, a lot of Israelis, believe that they [minorities] are entitled to be equal to us,” protester Dan Meiri said. “It is the Jewish state but the people that live here are entitled to be equal to us across the board in education, in the army, in the universities, in the parliament – all over.”
The measure, pushed through last month by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declares the right to national self-determination is uniquely Jewish.
The law states that Hebrew is the official language of Israel, downgrading the status of Arabic. Previously, both Hebrew and Arabic were official languages.
The “nation-state bill” also establishes Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories as a “national value” that the state must encourage.
Tens of thousands of people including Jews and Arabs rallied in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv to protest the country’s controversial “Jewish state law”.
Passed last month, the divisive law officially affirms Israel’s Jewish character, but critics say it turns non-Jewish citizens of the country into second-class citizens, further marginalising some 1.8 million Palestinians with Israeli citizenship and other minorities.
The protesters marched through the streets of the city on Saturday night calling for the law’s cancellation.
“This is amazing. This is the first time I remember Jews and Palestinians fighting together for something. This is a really big moment for people that believe in democracy and equality,” an unidentified demonstrator told Al
Jazeera. A Jewish participant agreed, saying all citizens of Israel should be equal under the law.
“We, a lot of Israelis, believe that they [minorities] are entitled to be equal to us,” protester Dan Meiri said. “It is the Jewish state but the people that live here are entitled to be equal to us across the board in education, in the army, in the universities, in the parliament – all over.”
The measure, pushed through last month by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declares the right to national self-determination is uniquely Jewish.
The law states that Hebrew is the official language of Israel, downgrading the status of Arabic. Previously, both Hebrew and Arabic were official languages.
The “nation-state bill” also establishes Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories as a “national value” that the state must encourage.
