Former prime minister Ehud Barak joined other prominent Israeli figures to oppose the controversial “Jewish state” bill on Friday, saying a law to enshrine Israel’s Jewish status was harmful and unnecessary.
“Who needs it?” asked Barak at a gathering in Tel Aviv.
“This is an unnecessary law, even harmful. In general and especially now,” the former defense minister and IDF chief of staff said, adding that to Israel’s “friends it projects a loss of self-confidence, and to our enemies we are providing an effective tool to demonize Israel as state that’s distancing itself from democracy.”
The fate of the law is unclear now that the coalition collapsed and elections have been set for March 17.
The bill has had many opponents, including former ministers Yair Lapid and Tzipi Livni who, prior to being sacked on Tuesday, threatened to bolt the coalition over the issue.
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President Reuven Rivlin and his predecessor Shimon Peres also decried the proposed legislation, insistently backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who rejected criticism of the bill locally and from overseas.
Critics have argued that the legislation would alienate Israel’s non-Jewish minorities.
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