Arab MK writes his resignation in Arabic

Palestinian-Israeli Knesset member Wael Abu Younis MK has written his resignation in Arabic as a protest against Israel’s new Jewish Nation State Law, arab48.com reported on Wednesday. Abu Younis sent his message to the Speaker of the Knesset, based on Article 40 of the parliament’s basic law.

The Speaker, Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, apparently rejected the resignation because it was written in Arabic, which the new law does not accept as an official language in the state. “No person will sign a document they can’t read,” he wrote on Twitter. “I respect the Arabic language, but this is a fundamental matter.”

Abu Younis is one of 13 Arab MKs on the Arab Joint List and he filed his resignation based on the rotation agreement agreed among the four Arab parties which make up the bloc. His place will be taken by another MK on the list. Arab MK Zohir Bahloul, from the Zionist Camp, has also resigned from the Knesset in protest at the new law.

The Knesset has approved the Nation State Law, which regards Israel as a nation state for “Jews alone”. It downgrades the Arabic language and recognises a united Jerusalem, east and west, as the capital of Israel.

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