Joint Arab List Knesset member Yousef Jabareen has been working on legislation that would prevent Israel from being defined as a Jewish state, Israel Hayom has learned.
Jabareen has begun drafting a bill titled "Basic Law: Israel as a Democratic, Multicultural and Egalitarian Country," with the help of Arab and Jewish legal scholars with expertise in human rights. If the bill were to pass, it would join Israel's other Basic Laws, which are recognized as the country's de facto constitution in the absence of a formal document.
Jabareen's efforts come amid ongoing deliberations over the so-called "nation-state bill," which defines Israel as a "Jewish and democratic" country.
Israel Hayom has obtained a full draft of Jabareen's bill. One of its provisions stipulates that "Israel's borders are those that delineate the area that has been subject to Israeli law until June 5, 1967," the date of the start of the Six-Day War, which ended with Israel having won control of Judea and Samaria and other territories.
The bill says its goal is to "cement the values of the State of Israel as a multicultural democracy that treats all citizens, cultures and ethnic groups equally."
It also says that "Israel is an egalitarian democracy that that is based on the values of the liberty, dignity and equal treatment of human beings, in the spirit of the U.N. Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."
The bill states that any other legislation must be interpreted in a way congruent with its definition of Israel as an egalitarian democracy rather than a Jewish one.
Another of the bill's provisions says that "the State of Israel is a state shared by all its Jewish and Arab citizens, and all of its institutions and resources should serve all of its citizens in an equal manner."
Under the bill, Israel's national emblem, flag and anthem would have to reflect the ties Jews and Arabs have to the state equally. It also defines Hebrew and Arabic as the official languages, to receive "equal status in every agency throughout the judicial, executive and legislative branch."
The bill says that "the Arab minority in the country must receive appropriate representation in every branch of government, in every agency and in all decision-making foci." As such, cultural, educational and religious institutions "tailored to the Arab community" would be set up and run by "representatives elected by the Arab citizens."
Jabareen told Israel Hayom that the bill will likely be introduced to the Knesset in the coming days.
He said that unlike the Jewish nation-state bill, his bill would properly ensure that Israel is based on universal values because both Arab and Jewish ethnic groups would be recognized.
He said the "Jewish nation-state bill is a radical piece of legislation that will perpetuate a Jewish supremacy. We offer equal status to all and a place at the table for everyone. This is everyone's hope."
