PM defends controversial Jewish state bill, says ‘majority have rights too’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defends the controversial Jewish State bill by saying most Israelis want to preserve the Jewish identity of the country, and that “the majority rules.”

“In the Israeli democracy, we will continue to protect the rights of both the individual and the group, this is guaranteed. But the majority have rights too, and the majority rules,” he says at a memorial service for Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky.

“The vast majority of people want to preserve the Jewish character of our country for generations to come,” he says. “This combination of individual rights and group rights are the definition of a Jewish and democratic state.””

Clause 7B of the Likud-sponsored legislation, which the government hopes to have approved by the end of the month, would allow the state to “authorize a community composed of people having the same faith and nationality to maintain the exclusive character of that community.”

That portion of the text is seen as allowing towns to exclude Arab citizens, or even other Jewish groups, and has come under criticism in Israel.