Netanyahu will eventually agree to a softened version of his controversial legislation, a former aide says. ‘But the damage is done’
rime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s so-called “Nationality bill,” which would cement in law the country’s status as a “Jewish state,” is far from a done deal. It has yet to even pass a first of three readings in the Knesset, and it is likely that the current version will undergo many changes before it enters the law books, if it does so at all.
And yet, the government already finds itself at the receiving end of considerable domestic and international flak over it.
Within Israel, critics of the bill include Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, President Reuven Rivlin, Culture Minister Limor Livnat, former defense minister Moshe Arens, former justice minister Dan Meridor (the last four of whom are all Likud veterans), Jewish and Arab opposition parties, some coalition members, and many other Israelis, emphatically including conservative-minded ones.