Israel’s nationality law knows no boundaries

Israeli Knesset

Akiva Eldar writes in Al Monitor, “The recently adopted nationality law, anchoring Israel’s Jewish character, has been challenged by numerous petitions against it. On Aug. 5, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked delivered a chilling threat to the country’s Supreme Court, warning that a ruling overturning the law would be tantamount to an “earthquake, a war between the authorities.” Her words prompted a public and media storm, and rightfully so. Such a direct hit on the judiciary breaches a red line that even the radical right is wary of crossing. The law, which defines Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, threatens to cross other red lines, as well.”…

“Critics of the nationality law have focused on the absence of a key word, “equality.” However, another no less important word is also missing: “boundaries.” The law states, “The land of Israel is the historical homeland of the Jewish people, in which the State of Israel was established.” Where does “the State of Israel” lie? Between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River (including the West Bank), the area under Israeli control for the past 51 years, only 78% of which is under its sovereignty? The law goes on to say, “The right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people.” Do the Jewish people have the right to exercise self-determination in their historic homeland that lies, according to Jewish tradition, between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers — in other words, in modern-day‎ Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Kuwait? Alternatively, perhaps the Jewish people should make do with the boundaries of British Mandatory Palestine, as secular right-wing Israelis demand? Does all this mean that the Green Line, which served as Israel’s de facto border until 1967, will be wiped out forever?”

“Still, the Supreme Court justices evaluating the petitions need not risk war with the executive and legislative branches of government. Instead of entering into the heart of this question, they should simply demand that the attorneys representing the government outline the borders of the state mentioned in the law. If they argue that the nationality law applies the laws of the State of Israel to all the territories under its control but not to their Palestinian residents, as is currently the case, it would sound the death knell of the 1993 Oslo Accord, and at the same time constitute victory for Hamas.” (more…)