by Yair Altman and Danielle Roth-Avneri
Shaked expresses sympathy for the "true feelings" of the Druze, but argues that the nation-state bill does nothing to harm their equality and is vital for the country.
Druze protest leader Brig. Gen. (res.) Amal Assad, left, speaks
with Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, Friday
Photo: Moshe Ben Simhon
Days after former IDF chief of staff and head of the Israel Resilience Party Benny Gantz told Druze leaders that he would "change" the controversial nation-state law, which the Druze argue makes them second-class citizens, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said on Friday that Israel would do no such thing.
In a meeting with Druze citizens who held a
protest outside her home, led by Brig. Gen. (res.) Amal Assad and
former MK Shachiv Shnaan – whose police officer son was killed in a terrorist shooting at the Temple Mount compound
in the summer of 2017 – Shaked expressed her sympathy with the pain of
the Druze but stressed that the nation-state law was vital and would not
be changed.
Shaked said that as justice minister, she
had worked on behalf of full equality for Israel's Druze community. She
said that a Druze woman had been made a judge, that more qadim (judges)
had been appointed to the Druze Shariah court, and that she had worked
to increase the amount of money the government invests in the Druze
community.
"The Druze are our brothers and the flesh
and blood of the state of Israel. The nation-state law does not hurt
equality between the Jews and the Druze in Israel. It says what is
obvious, and comprises an interpretive tool for the courts that will
balance out the problematic interpretation given to the Basic Law: Human
Dignity and Liberty.
"The feelings of the [Druze] people are
clearly genuine. In the next government, we will need to find a way to
address that feeling, without changing the nation-state law," Shaked
said.
Yair Altman and Danielle Roth-Avneri
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2019/01/20/we-will-not-change-nation-state-law-justice-minister-tells-druze/
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