Richard Silverstein said the “nation state” law would encourage the building of more settlements for Jews to the detriment of Palestinians. It would also prejudice the entire Israel against anyone who is not a Jew, he added.
“This is an utter rejection of every value of democracy,” Silverstein emphasized.
The Israeli Parliament (Knesset) on Thursday adopted a controversial bill that declares the occupying entity “the nation-state of the Jewish people". The move was widely criticized as an apartheid measure that could lead to discrimination against its own Arab population. It was passed by a vote of 62-55 after a long and stormy debate early on Thursday.
The bill prioritizes “Jewish” values over democratic ones in the occupied territories and acknowledges Jerusalem (al-Quds) as the capital of Israel. It also allows Jewish-only communities, sets Hebrew as the official language of Israel and relegates Arabic from an official language to one with “special status.”
Israel is a theocratic regime under the control of Zionist rabbis, who do not pay attention to the basic principles of democracy and law, added Silverstein.
“Israel is now a theocratic regime run by rabbis and run for the benefit of one religion,” he said.
“There have been more nails hammered into the coffin of Israeli democracy with this law."