The leaders of the left-wing parties Meretz and Labor have been crying foul as of late because of the passage of Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People.
They call it racist and say that it has no mention of equality. The Druze held a large demonstration on Saturday in which they accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the chief sponsor of the bill, MK Avi Dichter (Likud), of throwing them under the bus.
Some 26 years ago the Knesset plenum passed Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. That law too has no mention of the word "equality," nor does it refer to the rights of Druze or other minorities in Israel.
But that did not stop Shinui MK Amnon Rubinstein (later of Meretz) from sponsoring the bill. Other MKs in Left also supported the bill, as did Justice Minister Dan Meridor (Likud), who is now opposed to the nation-state law.
When Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty came up for a vote in the Knesset plenum in March 1992, Meretz MK Mordechai Virshubski stepped up to the podium and said that he was in favor of the bill despite it having no mention of equality for minorities. "I would like to see this law serve as a statement that all human beings are equal, that there is equality before the law, and that he or she enjoys the dignity and liberty of others, that no one has supremacy over other human beings," he said. "All human beings are equal. This is unfortunately not incorporated into this bill. Had we inserted the language of the Declaration of Independence, these values would have been part of this bill," he continued.
But despite this criticism, he decided to withdraw his objections and allowed the bill to move forward. Despite being in favor of the bill, he conceded that "he was not doing so with great pleasure." He added: "Israel made a smart choice when it put forth the Declaration of Independence, and I believe that Israel should have a more enlightened and wider Basic Law. But this is all we've got right now, and let's hope this is the first step."
Labor MKs took no part in the plenum debate. Even those who raised objections, such as MK Moshe Shahal, did not rise to the podium to explain their objections. Only later did it transpire that Labor's leadership race distracted the party's MKs, and that is why they were a no-show.
Justice Minister Dan Meridor praised Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Chairman MK Uriel Lynn (Likud) and Rubinstein. "I believe this is one of the most important bills currently on the Knesset docket, and it will right many of our wrongs," Meridor said, noting that "safeguarding human rights is one of the principal duties of the Knesset, although it has a lackluster record on that front. I would have been more content with a bill called Basic Law: Fundamental Freedoms of Human Beings, but this initiative faced difficulties, and we are now left with a much simpler bill, which was drafted so as to garner the widest possible support." He added that "the bill is very important and I hope it passes with a wide majority." Today, the same Meridor is against the nation-state law.
Anyone who claims that the nation-state law was rushed through the Knesset and has sloppy language, even though it took years to draft and saw dozens of Knesset meetings on every article (including the creation of a subcommittee), would probably be shocked to hear that Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty was enacted within a year of being introduced.
The bill was introduced in March 1991, and shortly thereafter passed its preliminary reading in the Knesset plenum. It was then referred to the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and in December 1991 passed its first reading. Its second and third reading passed with a 32 to 21 majority in March 1992.
In other words, only a quarter of MKs voted in favor of a law that former Chief Justice Aharon Barak calls a symbol of Israel's constitutional revolution (along with Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation).
