Since its founding as a modern nation-state in 1948, Israeli society has dealt with the tension of wanting to simultaneously be a democratic state and a Jewish state. Depending on what feature of Israeli society you decide to observe, some institutions are more secular than others. However, the Knesset, which is Israel's legislative branch, decided to remove some of the dichotomy. Last week, the Knesset passed the "Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People." Instead of having a formal constitution, the Israeli government passes what are known as Basic Laws, which require a supermajority vote. I took a look at the English translation (see here), and as a matter of practical implications, the Basic Law seems to be largely symbolic in nature.
It's not like Israel being a Jewish state is news. Multiple democratic nations have preferred or official state religions, including the United Kingdom, Argentina, the Scandinavian countries, and Greece. There are also 136 nations that incorporate religion into their national anthems and 64 nations that incorporate religious symbolism into their flags. I cannot imagine there being an issue with religious symbolism enshrined into law without there being a double standard. So what are the issues that critics are raising?
Official Language: One actually has to do with Hebrew as an official language (§4). The provision states that the only official language in Israel is Hebrew (§4.A). Prior to this Basic Law, Hebrew and Arabic were the two official languages of Israel. Critics of the Bill are not happy with Arabic's demotion. I would argue two things. The first is that Arabic as an official language is a remnant from the Palestinian Mandate (Article XXII). I would additionally argue that when Israel was first a state, most of the 150,000 Arabs within Israeli borders did not speak Hebrew (Ozacky-Lacker, 2001). Since that time, Israeli Arabs have, on the whole, improved their Hebrew proficiency. 2011 Government Social Survey of Israelis shows that 90 percent of Jews and 60 percent of Arabs have a good understanding of Hebrew.
Arabic is not the only secondary language spoken in Israel That same 2011 survey shows that 15 percent of Israelis speak Russian, which is almost as large as the 18 percent that speak Arabic. And yet, we don't see Russian Israelis clamoring to make Russian an official language of Israel. There are multiple countries (e.g., France) where people speak multiple languages, yet only have one official language (CIA Factbook). The concern brought up by critics is that marginalization will result in further marginalization of Israeli Arabs. In spite of Arabic no longer being an official language, the Basic Law still states that it enjoys special status, and that "the formalization of the use of Arabic language in government institutions and before them shall be set in law (§4.B)." The bill does not limit Arabic being used in public writing or services, which means that the practical impact is negligible.
Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel: Another hot-button issue in the Basic Law is that it defines Jerusalem as the complete and undivided capital of Israel (§3). This declaration is nothing new. The Knesset declared this in a Basic Law in 1980. Jerusalem definitionally functions as Israel's capital, yet it is the only capital that is too contentious to actually call a capital in the international community. Not only that, there is so much political and religious significance behind the city itself. What was the coalition government doing by restating this fact? My guess: reminding the Palestinians that dividing up Jerusalem is a non-starter.
Settlements: The one that really gets to critics is the "development of Jewish settlement a national value and will act to further encourage and advance the establishment of such settlement." The idea of Jews settling the land of Israel is also nothing new. This idea dates back to the Palestine Mandate (Article VI), which is an internationally-recognized document from the 1920s. Aside from this precedent, this Section of the Basic Law is establishing it as a value. The concern on this section is that the State of Israel's borders are not defined, which is important since the West Bank and Gaza Strip are legally disputed territories (as opposed to occupied territories). At the same time, Israel's Basic Law does not proscribe specific policies, something that cannot be said for Hawaii's state constitution. It's a provision that is more bark than bite.
Undermining Non-Jewish Citizens?: What was not said was criticized as much as what was said. Critics say that the new Basic Law is troubling because it does not state that Israel is a "Jewish and democratic state," but only that Israel is a Jewish state. The thing is that the Basic Law did not have to because the Knesset already set this precedent. The Israeli government passed a Basic Law in 1992 reaffirming the human dignity and liberty of all Israeli citizens, and to "establish the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state." The Knesset reaffirmed this in another Basic Law in 1994. The current Basic Law does not negate previous Basic Laws, and as such, does not infringe upon the rights of any non-Jewish Israelis.
Postscript
Upon examining this Basic Law, it lacks enforceability to have impact on the day-to-day beyond anything negligible. If there is nothing of practical significance, why did this Basic Law become enacted? Why now? I have some theories.
Theory #1: Critics think that this Basic Law will derail peace talks and the two-state solution. The problem is that peace talks have been stalled since April 2014. This could be Israel's attempt at drawing some clear lines in the sand and having the appearance of making some progress in the interim. One clear line is the acceptance that Israel, the Jewish state, does exist and has a right to exist. Such a simple request for a peace agreement: co-exist with your neighbor. Apparently, the Palestinian government is oblivious to such a prerequisite. The other line that Netanyahu is drawing is that the undivided capital of Israel is Jerusalem. Netanyahu doesn't want any of this "West Jerusalem/East Jerusalem" squabbling. Just one Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty.
Theory #2: This Basic Law is response to the international community, and the BDS movement in particular. Such declarations of a preferred religion, a sole official language, or a certain flag design are mundane....except when the Jewish state does it. Yes, Israel has gotten better on the diplomatic front. Its ties have deepened with such nations as India, the United States, China, and Hungary, to name a few. Even so, there are some countries (e.g., Turkey) that are going to continue to have issues with Israel. In response to outcry from certain members of the international community, Israel is doubling down on what we already know: Israel is decidedly a Jewish state.
Theory #3: Israeli elections are coming up soon, and perhaps Netanyahu needed a legislative win before the next round of Israeli elections came around. Netanyahu is working on solidifying his current base, and possibly increasing it for the next term. The coalition government needed to pass something so it looked like they were effecting change when they were passing feel-good law.
What I can say is that political pandering is happening on both sides. My guess is that Netanyahu wants to take a gamble and hope that playing to Jewish pride and/or anti-Arab sentiment is a win-win. The opposing coalition wants to play it off as the beginning of the end of democracy in order to increase their representation in the Knesset. Anti-Israel individuals want to equate it to apartheid. I analyzed this malicious and slanderous claim six years ago. It wasn't true then, and given that the latest Basic Law is nothing more than nationalistic symbolism, it's not true now that Israel is an apartheid state. This Basic Law is nothing more than politicking and pandering.
I do, however, have a concern: not so much about reality, but about perception. Such a law could act as a reminder that although Israeli Arabs are citizens, they could never fully fit into Israeli society. If Israeli Arabs end up feeling further marginalized from society, it could cause further social strife. That's one way it could play out, but maybe the symbolism could help everyone adjust to the fact that Israel is indeed a Jewish state, and the Jewish aspect is increasingly important for Israeli citizens. If this ends up not being the case, there are elections coming up soon. If the electorate is that angry, they will vote the MKs that make up the coalition and bring in new politicians. Per §11 of this Basic Law, all you need is a supermajority to overturn the Basic Law. The fact that there is a way to use the system to eliminate this Basic Law shows that Israel is still a democracy, and that this is not the beginning of the end of Israeli democracy.
8-14-2018 Addendum: I came across another theory as to why this bill passed. Although there is the theory that the Israeli Right is drifting further to the Right, there is also the possibility that the Israeli Left is drifting further to the Left, far enough to the Left where it is abandoning its former Zionist roots.
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