The right way to equality in Jewish state
Op-ed: Israel should be defined as a Jewish state. But part of being a Jewish state includes the core Jewish value of equality for all human beings and reaffirming equal rights for non-Jews.
The Jewish nation state bill grabbed headlines these last weeks and many believe that the controversy over the bill played a role in leading us to elections. The Prime Minister has tried to portray Yesh Atid as being against a bill stating that Israel is a Jewish state. Nothing can be further from the truth.
Israel is a Jewish state; it is also a democratic state. At first glance, these values seem to contradict one another but the strength of Israel and the core of our national identity has been the ongoing conversation and debate to continuously insure a proper balance between these values. Yesh Atid supports a constitutional bill which declares Israel as a Jewish state. However, we must make sure that this legislation strengthens, rather than weakens, these two fundamental aspects of our identity - Jewish and democratic.
This past month Israel buried Zidan Saif. Zidan, a 30 year old member of the Israeli Druze community and a member of the Israeli police force was killed by Palestinian terrorists when he rushed into a Jerusalem synagogue to try to protect Jewish worshippers from brutal Palestinian attackers wielding axes and meat cleavers. A non-Jewish citizen of Israel, proudly serving in the Israeli security forces, risked his life without hesitation, and gave his life with pride, to protect Jewish Israelis in their place of worship. Zidan did not think first about wife of 18 months or his four month old daughter. He was a proud non-Jewish citizen in a Jewish state and performed his service to his country and its citizens.
This is not the first time this has happened. In fact, just a before Zidan was killed, Israel buried another member of its Druze community, Jidan Assad. Jidan, a border policeman, was mowed down trying to stop a car driven by a Palestinian terrorist attempting to run over innocent civilians - Jews and non-Jew alike.
Co-existence between Jews and non-Jews exists throughout Israel. I have had the privilege of meeting non-Jews throughout Israel - Christians, Muslims, and Druze, all citizens of Israel - who appreciate the fact that they live in the only country in the Middle East which provides them with complete democratic rights alongside full religious rights. The Israeli Knesset, in which I proudly serve, proves this point even further. Arabs from both the Muslim and Christian faiths serve alongside the Jewish members and have full rights to speak their minds. The halls and galleries of the Knesset are filled with citizens wearing the garb of all faiths, visiting to witness the only democracy in the Middle East at work.
This is why most Israelis and the Yesh Atid party rejected the legislation which was brought to the government. We are in favour of cementing the notion that Israel is a Jewish state. But part of being a Jewish state includes the core Jewish value of equality for all human beings and reaffirming equal rights for non-Jews in Israel instead of taking steps in the opposite direction.
The founders of Israel including iconic leaders of both the Labor and Likud parties would have rejected the version of the legislation which the Prime Minister brought to the Knesset, especially at this sensitive time in Israel. Any nation state law must be based on our Declaration of Independence.
The focus on a Jewish nation state law at this point in time seems to have been nothing short of an excuse to go to elections. We, in Israel, need to focus on the important matters of the day including continuing to work to lower the cost of living, improving the security situation inside the country including strengthening our relationship with the non-Jewish minority, and to continue to work towards separating from the Palestinians. This is what the overwhelming majority of Israelis want and this is what responsible leadership must do.
