Israel is a Hebrew State, by Zvi Zameret (Haaretz)
MK Hendel: Evict Arab MKs from Knesset
“In 2002 then Supreme Court president Justice Aharon Barak ruled on a petition filed by Adalah and others… : ‘The law in Israel does not recognize a collective right to cultivate the unique identity and culture of certain population groups, and thus far we have not heard of a minority’s right to preserve and promote its language while compelling the public authorities to help it.'”
Full text;
Adalah – the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel – is not content with the saying, coined by Balad MK Azmi Bishara, that declares that Israel should be “a state of all its citizens,” nor with Ra’am Ta’al MK Ahmed Tibi’s demand that we be “a state of all its nationalities.” In a new document entitled “The Democratic Constitution,” the organization has demanded the establishment in Israel of a “bilingual and multicultural state.”
The constitution that is proposed by Adalah threatens the foundations of the existence of the State of Israel. Some of its provisions cut to the core of our existence: the Hebrew language. According to this document, we must grant equal status to Hebrew and Arabic “in all of the functions and activities of the legislative and executive branches.” In other words, it says that all cabinet and Knesset discussions will be held in Arabic as well, and every official publication, ordinance, regulation, traffic warning or sign will also appear in that language. The document also demands that rulings of the Supreme Court, the district courts and the appeals courts be written in Arabic as well. As for the magistrate’s and other, lower courts, the demand is that the state recognize the right to hold their proceedings in Arabic only. Moreover, it is proposed that “small autonomous units” such as municipalities, local authorities and Arab villages be entitled to use only Arabic. In addition, the proposed constitution calls for the establishment of educational institutions, including universities, whose studies are conducted in the Arabic language.
This is a major escalation in the declared intentions of Palestinian intellectuals in Israel to destroy the character of the state and to break up its unity. In the United States, for example, the English language is preserved as a basic element that ensures the country’s existence. There it is not possible to acquire citizenship without a minimal knowledge of English. In most European states, too, there are clear rules concerning the protection of the state language.
The European Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of 1988 does support the right of a national minority to preserve its language, but it does not obligate a state to preserve and nurture the languages of minorities. In most of the countries, for example, there is no obligation that education be given in the minority language by state teachers and at state expense (as is the practice in Israel with respect to elementary and secondary education).
And what does the law here say? Legally, Israel has two official languages: Hebrew and Arabic, but Arabic has an inferior status. The superior status of Hebrew is clear and explicit. In 2002 then Supreme Court president Justice Aharon Barak ruled on a petition filed by Adalah and others concerning signs in Arabic in municipalities with an Arab minority that: “The law in Israel does not recognize a collective right to cultivate the unique identity and culture of certain population groups, and thus far we have not heard of a minority’s right to preserve and promote its language while compelling the public authorities to help it.”
“The fate of the Jewish people has always depended on the Hebrew language. History proves that Jewish communities that abandoned this language were destroyed. Hebrew is the basis of our Jewishness, but also the basis for partnership and equality among all the citizens of Israel.”
The Hebrew language is a cornerstone in the definition of Israel as a sovereign state. It is not only an expression of the identity of the individual; it is the key to the state’s solidarity. Just as French is a basic element in the definition of France as a sovereign state – even though millions of its residents have another native language – so Hebrew is the basis of our “togetherness.”
The fate of the Jewish people has always depended on the Hebrew language. History proves that Jewish communities that abandoned this language were destroyed. Hebrew is the basis of our Jewishness, but also the basis for partnership and equality among all the citizens of Israel. If we accede to the demand for bilingualism, we will wipe out the fundamental basis of our sovereignty and our unity.
Israel is above all a Hebrew state. The Arab minority among us should know that bilingualism is liable to distance those who do not know Hebrew even more, and also to discriminate against them more. Anyone who wants to be wrapped entirely in the Arabic language can choose to live in an Arab country.
The writer is the director general of Yad Ben-Zvi.