Haaretz is well to the left of Starmer in recognising Israeli reality

The process of turning the State of Israel from a democracy that is suffering under the burden of the occupation, into an occupation suffering the burden of a democracy, is advancing along several paths. Passage of the nation-state law, which laid the foundations for that Jewish ethnocracy, was the most important step taken so far in this direction.

The legal “reform” is due to replace the infrastructure of government to ensure Jewish supremacy and Arab inferiority in Israel, and to lay the legal groundwork for annexation of the territories and the establishment of an apartheid regime (on a single territory with two legal systems, one for Jews and one for Arabs). At the same time, Israel would continue to promote loyalty tests for its citizens to single out the minority population, limit its range of action, exclude it, downgrade its civil status and damage its political representation.

On Sunday, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation gave its assent to a bill introduced by Foreign Minister Eli Levy that would require holders of office involving representation of Israel abroad to declare, as a condition of their appointment, that they recognize Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. That’s in addition to the current declaration committing them “to remain loyal to the State of Israel and its laws, and to honestly and faithfully fulfill every obligation entrusted to me as an employee of the state.”

In other words, loyalty to the State of Israel, as to any normal country, isn’t sufficient. Now loyalty to the state as defined by those in power at the moment would be required. It would be subject to the political interpretation of those elected for four years, but who view themselves as entitled to decide the country’s character forever and ever.

Make no mistake: “Jewish state” is a code term for discrimination in favor of the Jewish majority, to the detriment of the Arab minority. No matter how the word “democratic” is stuck to the word “Jewish,” it won’t obscure the clear aim of the requirement in the bill – ensuring the Jewishness of major officeholders, or at least the willingness of Arabs seeking to represent Israel to respect their country’s Jewish supremacy and to stand in the way of those who don’t. An example is then-Meretz Knesset member Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi, whom the foreign minister at the time, Yair Lapid, wanted to appoint as consul in Shanghai.

In a well-functioning, normal democratic country, it would suffice to be loyal to the state and its laws. That’s how it’s been in Israel for many years. But that’s not how it would be in the country that members of the racist, nationalistic, messianic, antidemocratic coalition now in power dream of – and they’re working to turn their dream into reality. Whether Jewish or Arab, any Israeli citizen who has had concerns about equality in the country must oppose these terrible bills and the government of destruction that is legislating them.

The above article is Haaretz’s lead editorial, as published in the Hebrew and English newspapers in Israel.