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Democrats propose gender equality changes in Israel’s Basic Law – Israeli Politics

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Following the attack on the Druze village of Majdal Shams in northern Israel on Saturday, the four Knesset members of the Democratic Party (formerly the Labor Party) proposed a bill on Sunday to amend a basic law that considers discriminatory against Israel’s Druze community.

The proposal calls for adding several provisions to the Basic Law: Israel – the nation-state of the Jewish people, which would emphasize elements of equality. These include a clause stating that the law would be enacted “in the spirit of the values ​​of the Israeli Declaration of Independence.” A clause stating that the government would take measures to develop the country “for the benefit of all its civilians and residents.” And an amendment that would make Arabic the official state language, as opposed to a language with “special status.”

The law, passed in 2018, angered Israel’s Druze community, which argued that it emphasized Israel’s Jewish character and excluded recognition and contributions from minority groups.

“The Israeli government can no longer ignore the common fate of our Druze, Circassian and Bedouin brothers and sisters, as well as all citizens of the country,” the MPs said in a statement.

“Many have paid with their lives since October 7, others have helped people who fled the Nova Festival and helped the many injured. Our moral and ethical obligation is to recognize them as equal citizens of the State of Israel. The rehabilitation and restoration of Israeli society after the fall of the government will also include amending the Nation-State Law in the spirit of the original values ​​of Zionism,” the MPs said.

Labour MP Gilad Kariv is pictured during a Knesset discussion on May 7, 2024 (Source: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

Democratic Rep. Gilad Kariv and others have introduced similar bills several times since the original bill was passed in 2018, but none passed and the bill remained in its original form.

The end of the summer session

The proposal came as the Knesset plenum ended its summer session on Sunday and went into a three-month recess. Knesset committees will continue to meet during the recess, albeit less frequently than when the Knesset is in session. In addition, the government or a majority of Knesset members can initiate a procedure to reconvene the plenum several times during the recess. This could happen in the coming weeks if the coalition wants to pass certain war-related measures or other sectoral bills of particular importance to one of the coalition parties.



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