Gerald Steinberg 2 (2)Click here for full article.

[EXCERPTS]

In the debate on the proposed “Jewish state law,” much of the criticism erases the context that brought this issue to the political center at this time. Claims of “racism” and “discrimination” that have echoed through the media and in the Knesset reduce an important and complex issue to simplistic and misleading slogans.

This initiative cannot be understood without considering the ongoing campaigns to erode and eventually erase the essential Jewish framework of Zionism. For a number of years, anti-Zionist political groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have sought to reverse the definition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, and replace it by a state “of all of its citizens.”

For example, an Israel-based group known as Zochrot (Remembrance), which accuses Israel of “ethnic cleansing,” among other libels, held a film festival on the “Nakba and Return” at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque on November 27-29. Such events and the advertising campaigns that surround them promote the Palestinian myth of a “right of return,” which, if it were implemented, would end Israel’s existence as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

Adalah condemns the Law of Return, the Israeli flag, Hatikva, the Menorah as the national symbol, the Jewish National Fund, and other targets that reflect the Jewish history and culture.

…the political agenda reflects the importance of reinforcing Israel’s fundamental Jewish and Zionist identity, based on the 1948 Declaration of Independence, which defines Israel clearly and repeatedly as “the Jewish state.” And while different formulae exist in order to reach this objective, opponents who resort to false slogans such as “racism” are contributing to the problem.