Two legal scholars and a political scientist discussed Israel’s status as the nation-state of the Jewish people and a democracy at the Sept. 26 meeting of JUF’s Jewish Community Relations Council.

Israel’s Nation State law, which was adopted by the Knesset July 19 following months of negotiations, has sparked vigorous debate both within and outside Israel. The law for the first time enshrines Israel as “the national home of the Jewish people.” It is known as one of the Basic Laws, which guide Israel’s legal system and are more difficult to repeal than regular laws.

“We fully support Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish People,” said JCRC Chair Bill Silverstein. “We also desire to see the State reflect the highest Jewish and democratic ideals of fairness, equality, and compassion for all its citizens as reflected in Israel’s Declaration of Independence and other laws.”

Dr. Eugene Kontorovich, law professor at Scalia Law School at George Mason University, joined the meeting via Skype from Israel. He argued that the law as adopted does not “reduce, remit or change individual rights of Israeli citizens.” Kontorovich compared Israel’s democratic structure to other nation-states, such as many European countries, which fulfill the self-determination of specific majorities.

Dr. Mohammed Wattad, dean of the law school at Zefat Academic College, views the Nation State law through a legal system prism. In fact, he believes that all provisions in the new legislation already exist in other basic laws or in documents given constitutional status by the Israeli Supreme Court, such as the Declaration of Independence.

“This law is not about Arabic or Hebrew or the Arab-Jewish relationship in Israel,” he said. “It is about the tension between the Supreme Court and the Knesset.”

The questions of equality and human dignity for Israel’s minority communities are foremost on the mind of Dr. Meir Elran, a political scientist at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. He believes that the new Nation State law is a result of the growth in nationalist sentiments among Israel’s Jewish population.

“The [new] basic law is not just a symbolic manifesto,” he said. “It is an identification card for the State of Israel and says what and who we are and are not.”