Israeli ministers move to demote Arabic language

Israeli ministers have approved the wording of a controversial bill that would downgrade Arabic from its status as an official language, officials and reports said.

If the bill eventually becomes law, Arabic would be defined as having special status, while "its speakers have the right to language-accessible state services," though it would not be an official language, Haaretz newspaper reported.

The go-ahead for the nation state bill by the ministerial committee for legislation means it will now move forward to a vote by the country’s parliament. The bill has to pass several stages in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, for it to become law and could also be challenged in the courts.

Hebrew and Arabic are both Israel’s national languages, but the bill states that Hebrew would be the lone national language.

The bill also states that the right to self-determination in Israel “is unique to the Jewish people”, despite the country’s sizeable non-Jewish minority.

The bill proposes to enshrine in basic law the Admissions Committees Law that stipulates that "the state may allow communities, including the members of one religion or one nationality, to maintain separate communal settlement." It also states that "any resident of Israel, regardless of religion or nationality, is permitted to act to preserve his culture, heritage, language and identity."

Critics say the law is discriminatory and could undermine Israel’s balance of being both a Jewish and democratic state by harming the rights of minorities.

Parliament member Ayman Odeh, who heads the mainly Arab Joint List alliance, said approving the bill would mean trampling on minority rights, adding it would "legally transform us into second-class citizens".