Knesset rejects opposition bill to give Declaration of Independence legal standing

The Knesset rejects an opposition-led bill to imbue Israel’s 1948 Declaration of Independence with legal standing.

Arab party lawmakers join the coalition to defeat the measure in its preliminary reading, with a vote of 50 to 31.

The founding document, which critically describes Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, operating under the principle of equality, is considered influential but has no legal power.

Over the past few months, opposition leader Yair Lapid has pushed for legal reform in line with the declaration’s principles and has said he wants to codify it into law.

Wearing a miniature Declaration of Independence on his lapel to introduce the bill, Lapid says Israel’s “liberal, sane majority woke up” over the past months’ debate on overhauling Israel’s judiciary, and that the fight for a Jewish and democratic Israel has “reminded us of how we are at our best.”

Tapped by the coalition to represent its position against the bill, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi says it’s better to keep the Declaration of Independence out of the legal code, under the presumption that from there it can best influence legislation.