A retired Israeli Supreme Court judge has called on his former colleagues to overturn the controversial Jewish Nation-State Law, calling it “bad and unnecessary.”
Judge Salim Joubran, who was the first Arab to hold a permanent seat in the country’s top court, retired one year ago at age 70. In a rare public interview with Israel Radio, Joubran said that the law creates “a superior class and an inferior class,” and noted that it fails to mention “equality,” according to The Times of Israel.
“After the nation-state law was legislated I couldn’t hold back and keep silent any longer,” said the judge. “I have decided to speak out against this bad and unnecessary law.”
Supporters of the law argue that equality has been established as a core value of Israel’s in other basic laws, and claim that this law merely puts Jewish and democratic values on the same ground. Critics argue that the law is discriminatory towards Arabs and other minorities in Israel.
“This law doesn’t add any any honor to Israel’s lawbook, and in my opinion is should be nullified as quickly as possible,” Joubran said. “The law will add to the discrimination already existing against the Arab population. The Arab society is an asset that can be an important part of the state’s economic growth — if it is regarded the way it should be.”
“We thought that the time has finally come and that in such an important basic law the state would take care of equality,” he continued.
“But it seems like our leaders and some of the lawmakers have decided to ignore many things, like the Declaration of Independence which speaks of equal rights for all citizens. How can such a document be ignored?”
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