The Basic Law on the National Character of the State Has Passed a Critical Test

The Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People has completed judicial review and constitutes a component of the emerging constitution.

On July 8, a majority of 10 out of 11 Supreme Court justices dismissed petitions against the Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People. Chief Justice Esther Hayut noted in her ruling:

"This Basic Law constitutes one of the chapters in our emerging constitution, and it does not negate the character of Israel as a democratic state."

The Court effectively ruled that the principle of equilibrium between the Jewish and democratic character of the State of Israel is integral to the constitutional process ongoing since the state's founding.

On July 19, 2018, the bill was passed by a majority of 62 votes as the 13th Basic Law of the State of Israel. However, this specific law provoked intense debate within the Knesset, Israeli society, and Jewish communities worldwide.

The law declares that the exercise of the right to national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people.

Numerous petitions were submitted to the Supreme Court, including an appeal by 40 recipients of the Israel Prize in culture and arts.

Critics of the law argued that the adopted formulation discriminates against national minorities in Israel, as well as against immigrants who are not Jewish according to Jewish law. The petitioners contended that the phrasing of the Law fails to incorporate the principle of "complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex," as articulated in the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel.

According to the court's ruling, the law is to be interpreted as not depriving recognized individual or cultural minority rights or the value of equality, which is explicitly anchored in three basic laws: the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, the Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation, and the Knesset Law. Chief Justice Hayut emphasized: "Even prior to the establishment of the state, the leaders of the Zionist Yishuv made it clear that the state to be established in the future would ensure the equality of all its inhabitants <...> and that the right to dignity stems from the right to equality, as this right is closely linked to human dignity."

Most legal scholars agree that the principle of equality is already defined in the Basic Laws and Supreme Court rulings; hence, there is no necessity to reiterate it in all subsequent legislation.

 We emphasize that the Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People also establishes that "the state shall act in the Diaspora to preserve the affinity between the state and members of the Jewish people <...> and shall act to preserve the cultural, historical, and religious heritage of the Jewish people among Diaspora Jewry."

These principles are vital for the preservation of the Jewish people; however, public discourse in Israel does not dedicate sufficient attention to these aspects—particularly regarding the connection between Israel and the Diaspora amid anti- and post-Zionist ideologies held by certain radical political groups on both the right and left.

I wish to emphasize that various national minorities, including representatives of the Jewish people in the Diaspora, reside in the majority of nation-states in the Western world. From the standpoint of international practice, the situation in Israel is not unique.

International norms do not require nation-states to abandon their national character, but simultaneously insist on the right of national minorities to preserve and develop their unique identity through language studies, cultural autonomy, and religious services, which are equally guaranteed to the majority communities. Therefore, it is significant that the court reviewed and upheld the validity of Article 4 of the Law, which establishes Hebrew as the state's primary language without derogating from the status of the Arabic language in the country.

It is important to remember that preserving the rights of national minorities in Israel is also essential for reinforcing the position of Diaspora Jewish communities in their countries of residence. Jewish communities worldwide expect authorities to respect their minority rights, and we at the EAJC, alongside other international Jewish organizations, systematically monitor adherence to this principle.

As director general of an international Jewish organization dedicated to strengthening ties between Jewish Diaspora and the State of Israel, I believe it is particularly important to highlight the intent of Israeli legislators and the judiciary to continue solidifying the concept embedded in this law.

The Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People has thus undergone Supreme Court scrutiny and declaratively states that the principle of equilibrium between the Jewish and democratic character of the State of Israel is part of the state's constitutional framework, which is progressively taking shape since its founding. Simultaneously, it proclaims the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, outlining the mutual ties existing between Jews living in Israel and those residing abroad.

From our perspective, the Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People serves as an essential signal to all institutions within the State of Israel and the Jewish communities of the Diaspora.

Dr. Haim Ben Yakov, Director General of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress