Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) issued the following statement on the passage of Israel’s Nation-State bill in the Knesset:
"The Nation-State law establishes that racist and discriminatory practices against Palestinians and non-Jews are legal. The law states that in Israel only Jewish people have the right to self-determination, demotes Arabic from an official language to 'special status', places national value on the development of 'Jewish settlement' and confirms that the state 'will act to encourage and promote its establishment and consolidation'.”
JVP Executive Director Rebecca Vilkomerson said: “This law is a reflection of what Israel is today: a state which denies the full and equal rights of many of its citizens while anxiously tightening its grip on its system of hierarchy and dominance over millions of people living under its control. In the name of maintaining a 'Jewish identity' ,Israel is institutionalising discrimination, displacement and disenfranchisement.”
JVP Deputy Director, Rabbi Alissa Wise, said: “Today we put to bed once and for all the illusion that Israel is a democracy. The Nation-State bill that Israel passed today cements Israel as an apartheid state – from the West Bank to Gaza to Jerusalem to Haifa. Palestinians, no matter where they live, are controlled by an Israeli government and military that robs them of basic rights and freedoms.”
* Jewish Voice for Peace is a national, grassroots organisation inspired by Jewish tradition to work for a just and lasting peace according to principles of human rights, equality, and international law for all the people of Israel and Palestine. https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/
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