Israel - A Jewish State?

The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, 1948, stated - "The State of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations".

Benyamin Netanyahu is seeking to amplify this Declaration by asserting in addition that "Israel is the nation state of one people only - the Jewish people - and of no other people". The civil rights of minorities, including "Israeli Arabs", would be maintained.

Critics attack this proposal on some or all of the following grounds -

• Israeli Jews can hardly be defined in religious terms: Israeli Jews are largely secular. But to define a Jew in terms of ancestry is open to a racist interpretation.
• The status of non-Jews in Israel - Muslims, Christians, Druze - would be depressed.
• It would be a blow to the prospect of any Palestinian refugees returning to Israel.
• The move would hamper peace negotiations, making it harder for Muslim countries to establish neighbourly relations with Israel.
• It would be burdensome to require Palestinians and other Arab nations which already recognise the State of Israel to recognise Israel explicitely as the Jewish State.
• To what extent can a mainly Jewish State remain a democratic state?