Jerusalem, Nov 6, 2018 / 13:58 pm
Top Catholic prelates in Israel are asking the government to repeal the recent Nation State Law, which they say paves a path for discrimination against non-Jewish citizens.
"Although the law changes very little in practice, it does provide a constitutional and legal basis for discrimination among Israel's citizens, clearly laying out the principles according to which Jewish citizens are to be privileged over and above other citizens," the Catholic leaders said in their statement, dated Oct. 31.
"We, as the religious leaders of the Catholic Churches, call on the authorities to rescind this basic law and assure one and all that the state of Israel seeks to promote and protect the welfare and the safety of all its citizens."
The Nation State Law's provisions, which have the weight of a constitutional amendment, define Israel as the "historic homeland of the Jewish people" who have "a singular right to national self-determination within it."