Controversial 'Segregation' Clause That Would Allow Jewish-Only Communities Dropped

By Edward Leano, Christian Post Contributor Monday, July 16, 2018

Israel's ruling party has elected to blunt a key change to legislation, one that would have supported the formation of Jewish-only communities before the key change. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Education Minister Naftali Bennett have agreed to a version that replaced the controversial provision with a more general encouragement for "Jewish settlements."

The measure, if it had gone through in its original form, would have allowed the state to "authorise a community composed of people having the same faith and nationality to maintain the exclusive character of that community," according to the Guardian.

The proposal would also, in effect, establish Jewish religious law in those areas, on top of removing Arabic as an official language. It was a move that was highly criticized as running counter to the democracy in the country.

A fifth of Israel's population is made up of Arabs, and the country sees for itself as a democratic state that affords legal protection to them and other minorities, besides. The new provision was seen as a "grave threat" to Israeli democracy and could upset the balance between the Arab minority and the Jewish majority.

"That the state is allowed to create villages that will separate on the basis of race or religion or nationality – this is outrageous," Amir Fuchs, a head at the Israel Democracy Institute, said about the proposal in its first form.

In order to secure widespread acceptance for the bill, Bennett has proposed a change in the language of the clause. Instead of speaking about "authorization," the new policy instead deals with a focus on Jewish settlements as something of "national value."

"The state views the development of Jewish settlement as a national value and will act to encourage and promote its establishment and consolidation," the updated proposal read.