High Court rejects petitions against Nation-State Law
HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE President Esther Hayut hears a petition at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem
(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH 90)
The High Court explained the verdict, saying that it is not within its purview to order the law be cancelled or be involved in its content.
Israel's High Court of Justice rejected 15 petitions against the Nation-State Lawon Thursday. The court had been asked to determine if the law was fit to be a part of Israel's future constitution, given its content.
The court explained the verdict, saying that it is not within its purview to order the law be cancelled or be involved in its content. The court also commented on the intent of the law, that it is to establish the Jewish character of the state without diminishing the democratic nature of the state.
Justice George Karra was of the minority opinion, saying that some parts of the law challenge Israel's democratic nature. Karra said that the law ignoring Arab and Druzecitizens of Israel harms the principle of equality that is not explicitly established in the law.
Justice minister Gideon Sa'ar responded to the verdict saying that the nation state law is an important law that sets the essence and character of Israel as a nation state of the Jewish people. He said the supreme court did the right thing by rejecting the petitions because the law does not harm the individual rights of Israeli citizens.
Former justice minister Ayelet Shaked also praised the ruling, but said that she was disturbed that the court even discussed the possibility of overturning the basic law "removing the authority of the nation to set the character and identity of The State of Israel in the name of legal values would remove the basis of our democratic process," she warned.
Joint List faction chairman Ahmed Tibi said that the nation state law makes Jews superior in a racist manner. He said the court's decision not to overturn the law sets Israel as discriminatory.
"The High Court of Justice almost never helps the Palestinian minority in Israel on issues that go to the heart of their rights as a minority," Tibi lamented. " The high court failed once again to prevent the harm caused by the inequality of Israel's ethno-democratic regime."
NGO Adalah, a legal center for Arab minority rights in Israel, responded to the verdict, saying that the law "enshrines Jewish supremacy and racial segregation as foundational principles of the State of Israel."
"This Law is illegitimate and violates absolute prohibitions of international law. Although Adalah explicitly noted such international law violations in the petition that we filed on behalf of the Palestinian Arab leadership in Israel, the Attorney General and the Knesset decided to ignore and disregard these violations in their responses to the case."
The Nation-State Law, passed as a Basic Law, was heavily criticized for delineating Jewish national rights and symbols including the importance of “Jewish settlement,” but without any language guaranteeing the equality of all citizens, especially minorities.
Advocates of the bill argued, however, that equality for all citizens is legislated in Israel’s Basic Law: human dignity and freedom, while there had been no previous laws delineating Israel’s Jewish character.
Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.
High Court rejects petitions against Nation-State Law
The High Court explained the verdict, saying that it is not within its purview to order the law be cancelled or be involved in its content.
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