Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is ‘not a state of all its citizens’

NB: This feature of contemporary Israeli politics is an example of the endemic problems associated with 'self-determination' and the ideal of nation-states as homelands of homogenous populations with uniform religious beliefs (civil religion). This paradigm for a new world order was enframed by the arrangements of the Treaty of Versailles (whose centenary falls this June 28). It lies at the root of the most intractable conflicts of twentieth century geopolitics. The history and ramifications of these complex issues are addressed - in different contexts - in some of the articles beneath this post. DS

Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is “not a state of all its citizens”, in a reference to the country’s Arab population. In comments on Instagram, the prime minister went on to say all citizens, including Arabs, had equal rights, but he referred to a deeply controversial law passed last year declaring
Israel the nation state of the Jewish people. “Israel is not a state of all its citizens,” he wrote in response to criticism from an Israeli actor, Rotem Sela. “According to the basic nationality law we passed, Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people – and only it.  “As you wrote, there is no problem with the Arab citizens of Israel. They have equal rights like all of us and the Likud government has invested more in the Arab sector than any other government,” he said of his rightwing party.

Netanyahu is right: Israel is a nation with no interest in equality

As a Palestinian citizen of Israel, I am subject to insidious discrimination that is enshrined by law – and no major party sees it as an issue

As the comments caused waves in Israel, Netanyahu again spoke of the issue at the start of a cabinet meeting. He called Israel a “Jewish, democratic state” with equal rights, but “the nation state not of all its citizens but only of the Jewish people”. Netanyahu has been accused of demonising Israeli Arabs, who make up about 17% of the population, in an attempt to boost rightwing turnout in elections due on 9 April. He has continually warned that his opponents will receive the support of Arab parties and that they will make significant concessions to the Palestinians.

Netanyahu, under threat of indictment for corruption, is facing a tough challenge from a centrist political alliance led by Benny Gantz, a former military chief of staff, and Yair Lapid, an ex-finance minister. The alliance’s centrist positions and its security credentials – it includes three former military chiefs of staff – have helped it beat back Netanyahu’s claims that its leaders are “weak” leftists. Arab parties would be extremely unlikely to be part of any coalition government after elections. Arab Israelis are Palestinians who remained on their land after the 1948 creation of Israel and are largely supportive of the Palestinian cause.

Netanyahu leads what is seen as the most rightwing government in Israel’s history and says he wants a similar coalition after the upcoming polls.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/10/benjamin-netanyahu-says-israel-is-not-a-state-of-all-its-citizens

see also
The law of killing: a brief history of Indian fascism

As Bangladesh court reaffirms Islam as state religion, secularism hangs on to a contradiction

What is to be Undone
Superflous people - review of 'Our Moon has blood clots'
Peace as a punctuation mark in eternal war