You're reading: Reuters: Israel adopts divisive Jewish nation-state law

Reuters: Israel adopts divisive Jewish nation-state law

Published July 19, 2018 at 9:36 am

Israeli forces stand guard the area as Palestinians demonstrate in support of bedouin inhabitants near their village of Khan al-Ahmar, in the occupied West Bank July 18, 2018. Israel says the Bedouin village, located in a strategic spot east of Jerusalem near Israeli settlements and on the road to the Dead Sea, was constructed illegally and is seeking to move its 191 residents elsewhere. The residents of the village point out that it is nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain building permits from Israeli authorities in around 60 percent of the West Bank where they maintain full control.

Photo by AFP

JERUSALEM – Israel passed a law on July 19 to declare that only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country, something members of the Arab minority called racist and verging on apartheid.

The “nation-state” law, backed by the right-wing government, passed by a vote of 62-55 and two abstentions in the 120-member parliament after months of political argument. Some Arab lawmakers shouted and ripped up papers after the vote.