Peres: Jewish state bill only serves political interests

Israel’s former President Shimon Peres yesterday criticised the Jewish state bill that was approved by the government.

The bill states that Israel “is the historic homeland for the Jewish people and the place of the establishment of the State of Israel”.

During his speech at an annual memorial ceremony honouring Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion, Peres described the bill as “an attempt to undermine the Declaration of Independence for political interests”.

“The nation-state bill could rattle the nation and destroy Israel’s democratic status at home and abroad,” Peres said.

President Reuven Rivlin stressed that it is important to give priority to Israel’s national interests over personal interests so as to maintain the coherence of society.

He called for resolving problems within Israeli society especially in light of the critical events that have taken place in Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who drafted the bill, continued to defend it. During his speech at the memorial, Netanyahu said: “Ben Gurion was clear about one thing: the State of Israel is the state of the Jewish people, and only the Jewish people can fulfil its national aspirations in it. I do not pretend to know what Ben Gurion would have said today, but when he declared the State of Israel, there was not a need to enact a law that will define the Jewish and democratic character of the State of Israel. But over the years there are those who have challenged this character, and therefore it should be established in the Jewish State Law.”

The draft law, which is expected to be discussed at the Knesset next week, declares “the state of Israel is the national home of the Jewish people in which it realizes its aspiration for self-determination in accordance with its cultural and historic heritage… the right to the realization of national self-determination in Israel is exclusive to the Jewish people.”