Israeli officials were outraged to learn Sunday that lawmakers from the Joint Arab List are planning to seek U.N. condemnation of Israel over the controversial nation-state law.
The law, enacted in July, has been sharply criticized by the country's Arab minority, with Arab lawmakers calling it "racist" and "verging on apartheid."
Hadashot evening news reported Sunday that Joint Arab lawmakers have teamed up with Palestinian officials at the United Nations and are working to have the U.N. General Assembly pass a resolution condemning Israel over the legislation.
According to the report, Palestinian Ambassador to the U.N. Riyad Mansour plans to present a draft resolution for a vote just before the 73rd General Assembly session begins on Sept. 18.
Several Joint Arab List MKs have already met with U.N. Undersecretary General Rosemary DiCarlo to present their case, the report said.
The largely symbolic Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People, enacted in July, states that "Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it."
It cements the status of state symbols and Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel, and strips Arabic of its status as an official language alongside Hebrew, instead awarding it a "special status" that enables its continued use in Israeli institutions.
The Arab MKs' move was widely condemned by Israeli politicians.
The Prime Minister's Office issued a statement saying, "The cat is out of the bag. The heads of the left-wing parties [Zionist Union leader Avi] Gabbay and [Yesh Atid leader Yair] Lapid must now explain to the public why they are siding with the Palestinians and the Arab MKs and against the nation-state law, which preserves Israel as the Jewish state."
Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said the move by the Arab lawmakers is an act of subversion.
"The Palestinian Mission in collaboration with MKs from the Arab parties are planning a series of steps meant to slander Israel and undermine its international image at the United Nations through lies and incitement," Danon said.
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein issued a statement saying, "Once again, Arab MKs seek to undermine the State of Israel. Joint Arab List MKs, who are paid by the state and are afforded every parliamentary instrument, have the gall to cooperate with the enemy and slander Israel worldwide.
"Those who collaborate with the Palestinian Authority against Israel have to ask themselves where they belong: the Israeli parliament or the Palestinian one."
Likud MK Yoav Kisch said Joint Arab List MKs have "crossed the line" and called on the Knesset's Ethics Committee to revise its regulations to allow it to harshly penalize MKs who act against the state.
Gabbay issued a statement saying, "Joint Arab List MKs continue to malign Israel everywhere they go. We will continue to fight this phenomenon."
Opposition Leader Tzipi Livni (Zionist Union) said the Opposition "must stand against the Arab MKs' attempt to undermine Israel by promoting its censure at the U.N. We will vehemently oppose anyone who strives to undermine Israel's existence as the Jewish nation-state or its democratic character."
Lapid slammed the Arab MKs' move as a "disgrace" and an "act of subversion."
"There is no other country where members of the parliament seek to undermine their country like that," he said.
Joint Arab List members were unfazed by the criticism.
"If the State of Israel has nothing to hide, why is everyone so upset?" MK Yousef Jabareen wrote on Facebook. "Israel has to be made to be ashamed of the nation-state law and its racist legislation in front of the democratic world, which promotes equality for all citizens. The extent of our international activity runs as deep as [Israeli] racism."
Joint Arab List Chairman Ayman Odeh issued a statement saying, "The law of Jewish supremacy institutionalizes discrimination and racism. We have said so in the Knesset and we will say so on the international stage. This is public diplomacy at its best.
"The nation-state law deals civil equality and the democratic sphere a mortal blow and we will fight it on all fronts. Those who still want to live in a democracy would be wise to join us."
