The High Court of Justice announced Wednesday that its hearing over the constitutionality of Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People would be live streamed.

The decision, which is unusual, was made after right-wing watchdog Im Tirtzu sent a letter to Chief Justice Esther Hayut, asking that it let the public hear the oral arguments in real time.

The nation-state law specifies Israel as the state of the Jewish people but has been criticized by some minority groups as discriminatory.

  Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

In his letter, Im Tirtzu CEO Matan Peleg emphasized that "the decision to hold the hearing in and of itself is a serious violation of Israel's foundation as a Jewish and democratic state."

"The hearing is a serious violation of the separation of powers and the authority of our elected officials," Peleg added.

The post High Court to livestream hearing on controversial nation-state law appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The passage of the law sparked controversy in its initial form, dating back to the 18th Knesset, when Avi Dichter – then an opposition MK from the Kadima party – presented it to the Knesset but was forced to withdraw it due to pressure from Kadima leader Tzipi Livni. The 19th Knesset saw more attempts to get the bill passed, but once again, opposition pressure had it removed from the agenda until Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to pass it.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

The law opens with the words "The Land of Israel is the historical homeland of the Jewish people, in which the State of Israel was established." Later clauses define the national flag, symbol, language, national holidays, and more. The law decrees that the state will be responsible for ensuring the safety of Jews who are in danger because of their Jewishness, as well as ensuring the safety of all citizens of Israel who are under threat because of their citizenship.

Most of the opposition to the law stems from what opponents of it say should be stated but is not. They want the word "equality" included to avoid discrimination against non-Jewish citizens of Israel. Some others want the phrase "in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence" included in the wording of the law, to avoid the impression that the nation-state law is replacing it.

The debates in the Knesset plenum and committees were vociferous. MK Shelly Yachimovich (Labor) called it "racist and loathsome." MK Yael German said no one should remain silent in face of the "crime" the law entailed, and noted that "this was a lesson we learned from Majdanek." Benny Gantz told leaders of the Druze who were protesting the law that he intended to alter it, but a day later said he might pass a special law for the Druze.

Supporters of the law argue that equality is anchored in the rights of the individual, not in the national rights of the Jewish people. They say that the basic laws passed in the 1990s spell out individual rights and establish full civil equality between Jews and non-Jews in Israel. But the nation-state law, because it focuses on national rights alone – does not and will not include equality.

In the year since the law was passed, the courts have managed to hand down at least two rulings that were informed by it. In September 2018, District Court Judge Moshe Drori ruled in favor of a victim of terrorism who sued Hamas, deciding that the organization had to pay him 7 million shekels ($2 million) in compensation. Drori noted that his ruling was based on the nation-state law.

In another ruling, Drori decided that Israel was the appropriate venue to hear a lawsuit filed by two Jewish passengers, residents of the US, against the Palestinian hijackers of the Achille Lauro ship in October 1985.

Since the law was passed, 17 petitions against it have been filed with the High Court of Justice, which has yet to rule. The fact that the Supreme Court did not reject them out of hand drew criticism from the government and the Knesset, who argued that the High Court does not have the authority to intervene in the approval of basic laws.

One petition was filed by attorney Orly Noy and writer Sami Michael petitioned against the law on behalf of Mizrahi Jews. Their petition argues that the law is "anti-Jewish, and leaves out the Arab history and culture, as well as popular rabbinic culture, of the Jews from Arab and Islamic countries and bolsters the 'cultural inferiority' of Arab Jews in the public sphere."

Another petition was filed by Ashkenazi Jews. The 81 petitioners claim that they oppose the law because it "defines us, Ashkenazi Jews, as holding a superior status in Israel. The nation-state law defines us, Ashkenazis, as lords of the land. We want to live as equals among equals with the rest of the residents of the country."

What is even more absurd than the petitions themselves is that the High Court plans to discuss them seriously.

The post Nation-state law was passed 70 years too late appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

In its weekly meeting on Sunday, the cabinet decided to establish the Ministerial Committee on the Issue of the Druze and Circassian Communities and Minorities that Serve in the Security Forces. The committee is being headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and includes Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and other ministry heads.

The committee's main mission is to provide solutions for difficulties in housing, employment and education encountered by members of minority groups who serve in the nation's security forces.

In Sunday's cabinet meeting, Netanyahu dismissed arguments that the Druze community was hurt by the nation-state bill, the mostly symbolic new Basic Law that decrees ‎‎that only the Jewish ‎people ‎have the right to national ‎self-‎determination in Israel.

"The State of Israel is the national state of the Jewish people. Israel is a Jewish and democratic state. Individual rights are anchored in many laws, including [the] Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. No one has harmed – and nobody intends to harm – these individual rights," Netanyahu said.

"The deep bond between the Druze community and our commitment to it are also essential. Therefore, today we will establish a special ministerial committee to advance this bond."

Meanwhile, in an interview with Army Radio on Sunday, Shaked addressed the possibility that the High Court of Justice might reject the nation-state law, against which at least two petitions have already been filed.

"A step like that would be an earthquake, a war between the branches of government," Shaked said.

The post PM convenes ministerial committee on Druze, minorities appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.