Israeli ministers call for change in controversial Nationality Law
Paying tribute to the Druze community and its contribution to the country, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman called to change the controversial Nationality Law, which anchors the Jewish character of the State of Israel.
On May 15, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) authorized to publish the name and photo of Druze Col. Mahmoud Kheir el-Din, who was killed by friendly fire in a covert operation in the Gaza Strip in 2018. Kheir el-Din, 41 at the time, had participated in a special operation by the Intelligence Division. He was awarded a medal posthumously on the chief-of-staff's commendation. Due to security considerations, his name and photo could not be released until now.
All at once, he became a hero. His death raised a painful issue for the country’s Druze community — the controversial “Nationality Law,” which anchors the Jewish nature of the State of Israel. Various parties in the coalition called for the law to be repealed immediately.
The issue was raised by the head of Yisrael Beitenu, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman. He tweeted, “There is a clear contradiction between the Nationality Law in its current iteration and all the praise for Israeli hero Mahmoud Kheir el-Din and many others like him, who gave their lives for the country. We now have an opportunity to amend the Nationality Law and set the Declaration of Independence as a Basic Law. I call on the opposition and the coalition to come up with a new path forward, instead of making do with terms like 'brothers in arms' to describe the Druze community. They have to do what circumstances demand.”
His reaction was surprising. Several members of his Yisrael Beitenu party actually supported the Nationality Law, which was advanced by the Likud in 2018. On the other hand, the party also has a Druze minister — Hamad Amar — who voted against the law once Liberman allowed the members of the party to vote their conscience. The mood has changed since then. Yisrael Beitenu is no longer party of a coalition of right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties. There is now a real possibility that the discriminatory law could be overturned.
