Israeli lawmakers push Hebrew-only bill

A group of right-wing Israeli lawmakers are proposing a bill to make Hebrew the sole official language of the State of Israel.

The bill, which has the support of Knesset members from the Likud, Yisrael Beytenu, and Jewish Home parties, would break from current law, which mandates that Arabic as well as Hebrew must be used in a wide variety of official functions, including in the court system, government ministries, and official government forms and announcements, Haaretz reported. That law dates back to the period of the British Mandate.

Under the proposed bill, highway signs would still have to include Arabic.

The bill was proposed by lawmaker Shimon Ohayon of the Yisrael Beytenu Party and has the support of David Rotem and Hamad Amar from the same party, as well as Moshe Feiglin of the Likud party and Orit Strock of the Jewish Home party.