A Tale of Two Laws

On 19th July the Israeli Knesset passed a basic law – the Nation-State Law – that “establishes Israel as the historic home of the Jewish people” with a “complete and undivided” Jerusalem as its capital and Hebrew as its official language.

A meeting of the Knesset

This should not have surprised anyone, as the whole purpose behind international efforts from 1917 to 1984 was to provide a national homeland for the Jewish people – a people who have suffered persecution in other countries for many centuries.

However, reaction to the new law came quickly and was mostly negative. Around 20 percent of Israel’s population is not Jewish, and many in that minority have complained, supported by many other people around the world. The Druze community, in particular, have been prominent in voicing their opposition.

But most people are missing or ignoring vital points in this argument.

First, in readiness for their own state, the Palestinians have also formulated a basic law. And that law says that a Palestinian state will be part of the larger Arab world, with Arab unity an objective that the Palestinian people shall work to achieve; in other words, it will be an Arab state.

That basic law also says that Islam will be the official religion of a Palestinian state, with the principles of Islamic Shari’a as the main source of legislation; and Arabic shall be the official language.

Can anyone fail to see the hypocrisy in this?

The Arabs in Israel complain about it being declared a Jewish state with Hebrew as the official language, but want their own state to be an Arab state with Arabic as the official language and the laws to be based on Islam!

Second, the current Israeli-Palestinian peace process is based on the formation of separate Arab and Jewish states. The Palestinian leadership have eagerly declared their Arab state, despite the fact that it does not exist, but at the same time they reject a Jewish state, wanting to retain the whole of what they see as their land for themselves. Any words of acceptance of a Jewish state have to be taken with a large pinch of salt given the sworn objectives of a number of Arab leaders.

Third, there are already 21 Arab states as members of the Arab League – why does the world need another?

Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, Jordan is one of those 21 Arab states and it occupies 77 percent of the land given to the British to govern under the League of Nations Mandate. Surely it should be Jordan that is the state given to the Arab peoples of the area?

This tale of two laws indicates once again that there is an international bias against the Jewish people. Is it any surprise that the Jews want to establish Israel as their one and only homeland?